What Could Have Been
by Pogokitten
Summary: The past can never be changed. What young Kyu has experienced and what she has done can not ever be unwritten. Their painful pasts will haunt them forever. She and Ninetales will make friends and enemies on their mission of revenge. As she tries to blend in with the people of Tokyo though, she begins to yearn for something more.
1. Chapter 1

On a clear summer night as the moon shone full through the leaves of a forest, a summer breeze brushed softly through the tree branches that reached towards the stars. At the foot of the tallest tree slept a pokemon. The Ninetales was larger than most. Its fur gleamed gold in the soft moonlight. In the folds of the pokemon's tails a young girl was in a soft slumber. She was small in size and her face was a sickly white color. The girl's clothes were dirty, with stains that looked like dried blood and grime. Her long brown hair seamed to flow into the pokemon's tails.

The Ninetales opened its red eyes and gazed up at the stars. It wanted this moment to last forever, its partner safe and resting peacefully, to feel this calm for the rest of its days. The call of a Hoothoot echoed through the trees breaking the spell. The young girl startled awake, and unwound herself from the soft fur of the Ninetales.

"We've wasted too much time." She said as she stood up. She gathered her backpack as Ninetales rose from its resting place. She pulled down the sleeves of her black jacket, covering the pale white scars that crisscrossed down her arms. She hoisted herself on to the horse sized pokemon with ease. Ninetales turned towards the dark forest path reluctantly. Though the girl tried not to show it she longed to stay frozen in the forest like Ninetales had. But she whispered,

"Come on we have to go." Ninetales took off down the dirt road its huge paws pounding on the ground, and the two were soon swallowed by the shadows of the trees.


	2. Chapter 2

_Suspect is on the move headed north in a blue jeep._ The radio squawked. Special Agent Maggie Toshiko gunned the throttle of her black Audie, and screeched out of the supermarket parking lot. She flicked the switch for her lights and siren. She picked up the radio transmitter and said,

"I'm in pursuit, set up a police barrier; we're not letting this one get away." The perp she was chasing was the leader of an illegal pokemon trafficking ring. Maggie's department had been tracking him for weeks, and had finally found the location of his storehouse. They had been about to apprehend him, but something had spooked him. She shifted gears as she raced down the crowded Tokyo streets. The street lights glared brightly in the darkness as she caught sight of the jeep.

He had three police cars on his trail. As they chased him towards a less populated area of the city, their speedometers' never dropped below 70mph. When the barrier came into view the jeep swerved right and rolled. The pursuit vehicles skidded to a stop. The jeep was a smoking hunk of metal now, and wasn't going anywhere. The suspect wiggled out of his crushed car and ran towards a narrow alley between two abandoned apartments.

A rookie officer with bright red hair, Liz Kimiko jumped out of her car, yelled "Freeze!", pulled out her gun and fired. The bullet passed right through the man's left leg. Blood sprayed across the pavement. He fell and howled in pain. He reached into his baggy jeans and pulled out a pokeball. He threw it and a Houndoom exploded out. It was battle scared and one of its horns was missing.

"Burning ash!" the suspect yelled. Just in time agent Maggie grabbed Liz's arm, pulled her back and yelled,

"Shit! Get down!" Black smoke streamed from the pokemon's mouth and ignited. The explosion sent the officers backwards, and the smoke obscured the perp stumbling into the alley, his pokemon bounding after him. As they coughed the black smoke from their lungs, Maggie managed to call out,

"Everyone okay?" she was answered by a chorus of groans, which at least meant the officers were alive. She stood up and pulled the younger officer up with her. Maggie was much taller than Liz. Her shoulder length pink hair was covered in soot from the explosion. Maggie's spotless uniform was now coated in grim. Her light brown eyes looked the rookie over. Liz's red hair was spikey and now singed slightly, and her pink eyes sparkled mischievously. She too was soot covered and her uniform showed off her curves.

"Why the hell did you fire on the suspect? We don't fire unless first shot at." Maggie demanded.

"I thought I could take him out Ma'am." Liz told her. Maggie glared at the young girl. Liz was 16 to Maggie's 20, and the rookie was a trainer who had just joined the unit two weeks ago.

"I don't care if you can take a suspect out. I care about the safety of my unit. We could have died. If you pull a stunt like that again I'll have you off the force faster than you can say 'Quick attack'." Maggie told her angrily.

"Yes Ma'am I understand." Liz said sulkily. Now Maggie knew it would be even more dangerous to go after the trafficker. A cornered injured criminal will fight harder than a Weedle caught in an Ariados web.


	3. Chapter 3

_Earlier that morning._

The sun shined weakly in the cold dawn. A white fog covered the street. In the small rural area of Tokyo, Nishimata, the people were still asleep. Even the birds had chosen to remain in their warm nests. Soon though, the silence was broken by the sound of a pokemon's heavy footfalls. A Ninetales with a girl on its back appeared through the mist. They were weary from their long trip down the mountains. They girl wrapped her black jacket closer to her body. Her bright green eyes scanned the street. The pokemon stumbled, and the girls said,

"Stop Ninetales. I can walk. You're about to fall over." The pokemon knelt down to allow the girl to slide off his back.

"Are you sure Kyu? Do not think I am so weak that I cannot carry one small human." The Ninetales told the girl.

"Yes I'm sure, I could use a stretch and we're almost there now." The girl turned and began to walk down the street as the pokemon got up and followed her. After a few minutes of walking the two stopped in front of an old boarded up house. The windows were blocked by burnt and broken furniture. The house's door was covered with rotting planks, and the yard overgrown not to mention full of garbage. It looked like a sad house full of sad memories.

Kyu and Ninetales walked around the building to a metal door in the ground that looked suspiciously newer than the rest of the house. Kyu was worried that her old associate might have moved locations, but as she knocked the code out on the door a voice called a singsong,

"What's the password?"

"Open up Rob. I don't know the password. I haven't been to Tokyo in three years!" Kyu said angrily.

"Kyu! I thought you were dead. I'd love to reminisce, but I can't let you in if you don't know the password. Sorry." Rob said cheekily from the other side of the door.

"For Arceus sake Rob if you don't open the damn door I'll bust it in!" Kyu tells him. The sound of metal bolts unlocking could be heard from the door, and it swung open. The man called Rob was tall with a messy mop of blonde hair and a lopsided grin.

"I was only joking I was gonna let you in." He said nervously. Kyu turned to Ninetales and tells him,

"Sorry Ninetales You won't fit down the steps. Why don't you rest up here, I'll be back."

"Of course." the pokemon said. Kyu followed Rob down the steps, and he closed the door behind them. _She still has that weird talking pokemon he thought to himself_. As they traveled below the abandoned house Rob was full of questions. _Why after all this time did Kyu come back to Tokyo? How was she still alive?_ And, _what did she want with him?_


	4. Chapter 4

Kyu followed Rob down the grey stone steps. She was exhausted, but she tried not to show it. At the bottom of the stairway was an old cement basement. The walls were windowless and it smelled musty. A single dingy light bulb flickered from the ceiling. Rob walked over to his wooden desk and sat down. The walls were lined with guns of all shapes and sizes. In the center of the room was a table with a few chairs where many sales were negotiated.

Kyu plopped down into an old folding chair at the table to rest her feet. Rob stared at her for some time before speaking.

"What do you want from me? Why even come back? The last time I saw you was when you left me unconscious in a warehouse."

"I saved your ass back there. Look I just need a few favors then I'm gone." Kyu replied coldly.

"You still have a huge bounty on your head. I don't want to be arrested for helping a mass murder."

"Look I don't need much just some info, and gun repairs then I promise I won't bring you into anything again. You're a gun runner that should be easy for you. And you owe me." Kyu told him. Rob thought about it for some moments. That seemed easy enough to do, and if it garneted he wouldn't see Kyu again it would be worth it. People tended to disappear around her.

"Alright deal. What's the problem with your guns?" Rob asked. Kyu walked over to the desk and pulled out two pistols from each of her hip holsters. They were beautiful things. The guns were sleek, silver and black. They were twin pistols with intricate designs running along their sides. Rob gasped.

"What have you done?! There are dents all over these guns! These are custom crafted one of a kind guns, and YOU DENTED THEM!" Rob screeched.

"Don't have a Miltank. You can fix them can't you? You know my style is mostly hand to hand combat." Kuy told him. Now Rob knew why there were dents. Kyu hit people with her pistols in a mixture of ranged and close combat attacks.

"Yes I can fix them, but if you're gonna smack people with the guns I'd rather make them reinforced as well. It's gonna take a few days…Well, anyway what about that other thing?" Rob asked dejectedly.

"I need to know the location of a kid. With a special power to connect to pokemon." Kyu told him tensely.

"I don't know much about pokemon, but there's a guy you could ask. He's a pokemon trafficker. He has eyes on all that kinda stuff. He has a big warehouse downtown, but I'd hurry the cops are closing in on him." Rob told her.


	5. Chapter 5

_Back to the present._

"I'm going after him." Maggie told her officers. She pulled her hand gun from its holster and released the safety. Then she pulled a greatball from her pocket and sent out a Manectric. The pokemon sat alert at Maggie's side waiting for its orders.

"I need you guys to call for the paramedics and the tracking unit." She told the group that was still standing. She eyed the alley. It was narrow, and dark. She knew it was a death trap. The alley was only one of many that connected to each other like a maze. If things went south retreat would be nearly impossible. A man left from the gathered police officers to do as Maggie had instructed.

"You won't find him easily in there. You need a tracker pokemon to follow his sent." Liz said.

"I just called for the unit. It's going to take time that we don't have to get here. I'm going in to try to find the perp until they arrive." Maggie told her. Maggie started towards the ally. Suddenly Liz grabbed her arm.

"Wait, take me with you. I've got a pokemon that can track." Liz said. She pulled out a pink loveball, and threw it. An Eevee came out of the ball its tail wagging. Maggie stared dubiously at the pokemon. It most likely wouldn't last long in a fight, but Eevees were famous for their tracking skills. She knew she would not be able to find the criminal without Liz's pokemon, even though she did not want to endanger the rookie.

"Okay, but stay close and stay quiet." Maggie said. Liz nodded and told Eevee what they needed to do. The four of them entered the alley in single file. First Eevee, then Maggie and Liz, with Manectric bringing up the rear. They went in silence surrounded by darkness. They followed Eevee and a trail of blood from the man's leg wound. Soon thought the blood stopped, and they had to rely on the small pokemon's nose. They went on, and on taking rights and lefts on the invisible trail.

Suddenly the radio on Maggie's hip buzzed. She picked it up and whispered,

"Yes? Is the tracker unit here?"

The voice replied, shaky and panicked. "_We've got a problem Ma'am! A huge pokemon came outta nowhere, and trampled most of the others!...It jumped onto the roof of a house and started heading in the same direction as you!...We couldn't see what it was its too dark…"_ Then the radio went silent. Shit.

Someone else was after the trafficker too? Well, we'll just have to get there first thought Maggie. She was not about to lose after all that had happened tonight.

"You heard that right? We need to get a move on. Hurry!" Maggie whispered. Liz nodded and told Eevee to go as fast as it could. Soon the group was zipping through the alley ways. Suddenly they broke out into an open space. A bullet whizzed past Maggie's head. She grabbed Liz and pulled her behind a broken section of a building's wall, and took stalk of the situation. The area was about 30yds wide on all sides. Piles of crumbled buildings lay scattered around the space, and it was open to the night sky. The only way in was the way they had come, and it was blocked by the criminal's Houndoom. On the opposite side of the space was the pokemon trafficker. He held his gun at his hip. His leg was wrapped is his green jacket to stop the bleeding. His grin gleamed in the darkness.

"Just like rattatas in a trap." He said.


	6. Chapter 6

"Well, well, well what do we have here Houndoom…I think they want to play with us." The trafficker's voice was smooth, but it was edged with rage. The pokemon growled at them. Maggie's brain was in over drive. She was trying to find a way to take them both out quickly, before they could attack. The man began to edge towards them slowly. Suddenly Liz pulled her gun and yelled,

"Eevee! Use sand attack!" Sand flew into the air hiding the officers. Liz turned and fired at the Houndoom. The bullet nicked the pokemon's front leg, and it howled in pain. Liz jumped from their hiding spot, before Maggie could stop her, and fired two more shots at the criminal. They both missed, and the dust settled leaving Liz wide open for a counterattack.

"Houndoom! Revenge!" The man shouted at the same time Maggie yelled,

"Manectric! Use thunderbolt!" Houndoom flew at Liz in what felt like slow motion, Eevee jumped into the Houndoom's way. But the little pokemon was smacked away and the Houndoom rammed into Liz. She was sent flying and her head hit a wall with a loud crack. A tickle of blood ran down her face, and her eyes closed. Manectric hit the Houndoom with a blue blot of electricity, and the pokemon collapsed to the ground paralyzed and weak from blood loss.

"You little bitch! I'll kill you for that!" The man screamed. He called the pokemon back to its ball. Then he fired at Maggie's hiding spot, his bullets bouncing of the broken brick wall. Maggie's heart raced, _was Liz okay_? She wondered. She steadied her breath. She had to save the young officer before it was too late. That impact could have broken her skull. Maggie returned fire, and the man ran behind a crumpled wall. She still had a pokemon she could beat him. He was hard to see in the dim light, and the shadows of clouds flickered across the ground adding to the shifting shadows.

"Manectric! Use thun-"Maggie was suddenly slammed to the ground by something huge and furry. The air was forced from her lungs, and her head hit the pavement. Pain exploded in the back of her skull. Though the pain she heard Manectric cry out. She was dimly aware of the sound of a scuffle. The world was shifting alarmingly under her. Maggie blacked out for a few moments.

She began to come around, and half made thoughts went through her throbbing head. Something big…and furry was pinning her to the ground…Someone was talking…What were they saying…a girl…a girl was talking…"Tell….where…is"….a man was saying something now he sounded familiar…the trafficker..! Maggie concentrated on his voice willing herself to pay attention.

"Why would I tell you anything?" he asked.

"Because If you don't I'll kill you." the girl said coldly. Her voice sent chills down Maggie's back. She sounded young. Suddenly the man screamed with agony. Maggie's concentration flattered and she missed some of the conversation.

"Some company called…..or something….paid a lot for his location." The man said his voice was tight with pain. With a huge amount of effort Maggie turned her throbbing head. Her vision was blurry, but she could make out a young girl with long brown hair in a silver jumpsuit and black jacket standing in front of the man. Her back was to Maggie, and her combat boot pinned the man to the ground.

"I was going to let you live because Rob seemed to like you, but you sold that boy out." Her voice was colder than a winter blizzard. She grabbed him by the neck.

"No please wait!" He cried desperately. Maggie lost consciousness again. Though as she drifted away she heard the girl say,

"-ve them –tails we have…move."


	7. Chapter 7

The shopping street, Ginza was packed full of people. There was hardly any room to stand, let alone move. The people moved in big groups or in ones and twos. The colorful store fronts were being gawked at by both natives and tourists. The afternoon sun shone hot and bright, turning the crowded street into an oven. Sitting on a bench away from the worst of the noisy mob was a young man.

He had an air of aloofness about him, and natural good looks. His hair was black and windblown, and his eyes a pale gray. That and his tight jeans drew stares from many young women. Next to his feet sat an Umbreon. Its black and yellow fur making the pokemon as miserable as his master in the heat. After some minutes an old woman hobbled over to his bench and asked,

"May I sit here?" The man glanced at the white haired woman and nodded a codded four times. The old woman brushed off her dress confirming who she was with the codded action. She then pulled something from her pocket and set it on the bench next to the man. The Umbreon sat up and sniffed at the elderly woman's hand. She smiled and patted the pokemon's head.

"A simple find and deliver assignment." She told the man.

"What's the package?" He asked casually as a group of teenagers bustled past. The old woman sighed softly, enjoying the sunshine.

"A person, a girl I believe. Our employers want to meet her quite badly. I've heard she is a highly skilled assassin. It seems she was missing for some time, until recently at least." She heaved herself up from the bench and turned to leave. Frowning the man asked,

"Wait, what's so special about her? There are already dozens of assassins at their command."

"I have already told you all I know, but….There is a rumor going around the underworld. They say that she showed up last night in the middle of a five car police chase, killed the biggest pokemon trafficker in east Tokyo, and got away without even being seen. This isn't going to be like your last job. You can't just fight your way through this. It's going to take some smarts." The woman told him. She began to hobble back the way she had come, but stopped and looked back at the man.

"Good luck, Austin. You're almost certainly going to need it." She called back to him. She turned and was blocked from view by a group of shoppers. When they passed she was gone. Umbreon looked quizzically at his master. Austin rubbed the pokemon's head. He reached out and took the USB the woman had left on the seat. Austin knew it contained the mission details, and shoved it in his pocket. The sun was warm and cheerful, and yet Austin slumped against the bench with fatigue. _Why can't I have a normal job_? He asked himself.


	8. Chapter 8

Suddenly Maggie opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Liz sitting beside her. The young girl's head was wrapped in bandages. When she saw Maggie was awake, Liz smiled at her. Then the memory hit Maggie like a train. The alley, the girl, the trafficker. She sat straight up and her head throbbed with a dull ache.

"Oww…" She said and laid her head back on the soft white pillow. Liz giggled and said,

"Well concussions do tend to hurt for a while." Maggie looked around and realized she was in a hospital room. The walls of the room were tan and bare. A fluorescent light buzzed overhead adding to Maggie's head ache. She was wearing a spotted hospital gown. She had a window on her right, and across from her was a TV playing an anime about pirates. Liz smiled again, and she seemed to glow with happiness.

"I hope you don't mind I was watching your TV. How's your head?" Liz asked. To Maggie it felt like someone was hammering a pointed post into her skull, but she said,

"Not too bad. How about you?"

"Well actually it was only a few cuts and bumps. I came out of that situation better than you. I woke up an hour after that Houndoom knocked me out. You've been out for two days." Liz told her.

"Two days!?" Maggie gasped. She tried to sit up again, but Liz stopped her and said,

"The doctor said you shouldn't get outta bed for a few days." Maggie leaned back again. Her head was throbbing with pain, but she had to know a few things.

"What happened when I was unconscious?" Maggie asked. Liz bounced with joy, she couldn't wait to tell her story. She put on her best story teller voice and began,

"When I woke up the ambulance people where checking me out, but I told them I was okay. I saw you were hurt and I ran over, but they told me you would be okay. Then I saw the trafficker was dead. They covered him in a cloth, and were picking up evidence. Then I saw the director of the whole police force, checking out a crime scene! Can you believe that? I went over and asked why they were collecting evidence if you killed him, but they told me you hadn't killed the guy!

I was surprised and asked who had killed him. Then everyone looked at me funny. And you know, they looked kinda freaked out. So I went back to the ambulance people and helped them get all the pokemon in the truck. Well that's about it, the only other thing that happened was me sitting around waiting for you to wake up." Liz finished the story very fast and excitedly_._

_So the girl had killed the man._ Maggie thought. _But who was she?_ _Why was the director at the crime scene?_ He never involved himself in such unimportant cases. Maggie's head hurt even more from trying to understand Liz's fast paced story. She just wanted to rest.

"Oh yeah, one more thing! The director wants to hold a case meeting tomorrow. He's going to hold it here because he wants to hear what you saw. How lucky, I'm jealous! Good night!" Maggie heard Liz say as she sank into a dreamless sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Maggie woke up early the next morning. After a disappointing meal of the hospital's best flattened fish, she sat in her bland hospital room and waited impatiently. Her head felt considerably better than it had yesterday. She was nervous to meet the director of the police department. She wondered about the strange girl in the alley for much of the morning. At first she sat on edge waiting for visiting hours to start, but as the day wore on and no one came she began to feel doubtful.

Three hours past the appointed meeting time, Maggie decided Liz had made the whole thing up. It did seem like the kind of trick she might pull. And she had started to like the rookie too. Just as Maggie turned on the TV to watch her secret pleasure anime, the director barged into Maggie's room without knocking. He blushed when he saw what was playing on the television, and blushing furiously as well Maggie turned the TV back off.

The director was a very tall muscular man with light brown skin. His dark blue hair was buzz cut, and his eyes were a deep black. Still blushing slightly he approached Maggie and offered his hand.

"I am director Brendon Sato. It is nice to meet you. Please forgive me for being late; we had a problem at the office." He said. Maggie took his outstretched hand and shook it.

"Special Agent Maggie Toshiko. It's a pleasure, sir." She told him. The director nodded and then asked seriously,

"Can you please tell me everything you remember about the other night?" Maggie nodded and told him everything she could recall about the night in the alley. When she got to the part about the girl the director's face became stone like. When she told him what the girl had said he paled. After she finished her story he sat silently for some time. Then he asked her,

"Miss Toshiko how much do you care about the safety of Tokyo's people?"

"Very much sir, I would die to protect them. And…and I want to know who that girl was." Maggie answered truthfully. The director stared at her for some moments, then made up his mind. He pulled a file from under his suit coat, and set it on Maggie's lap. It was thin with only a few pieces of paper in it.

"Three years ago there were a number of murders involving large company owners and their security. You should remember that, it was all over the news." Brendon said. Maggie nodded. Three years ago she had been assigned abroad and had still heard about it.

"The murders took place all over the world, although mostly Japan, in about the span of a year. The public was told that they were committed by a terrorist group, but that is not true. Evidence suggests they were all committed by one person, that girl." He said gravely. Maggie was in shock. _That_ _one young teenager had killed all those people in the space of a year?!_

"We don't know much about her. All the people who have seen her face are either dead or won't talk. She is feared by the criminal underworld as the greatest assassin to ever come out of Japan. Then for some reason she disappeared for three years. Now she shows up out of the blue and snaps some lowly pokemon trafficker's neck. All we have is a partial description and her code name…Kyu. Maggie, would you be willing to lead the investigation? It will be dangerous, but you have gotten closer to Kyu than any other living officer." He told her.

Maggie was silent for some time. She had a hard time believing that the teenager in the alley could be a master assassin, but then she recalled the girl's voice and chills raced down her spine. Then the thought of a mass murder like that running around her city, no her home, made Maggie's mind up.

"I'll take the case, sir." She told him. Brendon smiled slightly and nodded. He turned to leave, but something bothered Maggie.

"Why did you ask me if I was willing to die sir?" she asked the director. He sighed sadly, and without turning back to face her said,

"Because every person who has lead an investigation into Kyu was killed."


	10. Chapter 10

Kyu decided that she needed a civilian disguise. Rob had sent her a message that her guns were repaired and needed to be picked up as soon as possible, but it was the middle of the afternoon and Kyu had to slip through narrow alleys and hide in shadows to get to Rob's safe house unseen. She had left Ninetales in the abandoned loft she had been staying in, as a giant talking pokemon tends to draw attention. _If I could travel incognito than I wouldn't have to crawl through Raticate infested alleys_. she thought. She arrived at the back of the abandoned house covered in grime and who-knows-what stains.

She knocked the code and Rob opened the large metal door. He led her down to the concrete basement, and walked over to his desk. He pulled out Kyu's silver twin pistols the dents were gone and they had been polished. She picked them up and aimed, the familiar weight of the weapons in her hands was comforting. Rob had done an amazing repair job. They looked brand new.

"I remolded the silver, and reinforced them with Steelex shavings. You could drop those guns offa the Taipei 101 building and they wouldn't dent." Rob told her proudly.

Kyu put the guns back in their holsters, and nodded approvingly. Rob sighed with relief; Kyu was satisfied and would leave him alone now. But he was still wondering about something. He was working up the courage to ask Kyu his question when she asked,

"Do you know of any clothing stores nearby?"

"Huh?" Rob asked dumbfounded. Kyu was asking about clothes. Was he dreaming? He pinched himself then answered,

"Yeah about three blocks from here is a little family owned dress shop…" Kyu nodded seriously like she had just been given a mission. Rob pinched himself again to be sure. Kyu then turned to leave, and Rob remembered what he was going to ask

"Why did you just leave me there?" Kyu stopped, but did not turn back around.

"They were only after me. So I left you knocked out. I didn't need you getting in the way." She said icily. Kyu walked up the stone steps and Rob heard the sound of the metal door opening and slamming shut firmly. _Had Kyu cared about my safety?_ Rob asked himself.

Kyu snuck through more garbage filled alleys to the shop Rob had mentioned. The little pink building was thankfully closed. Kyu picked the lock on the back door and walked around the store. Most of the dresses were so frilly she wanted to puke, but eventually she found one that was decent. It was shin length with white lace on the bottom and a soft yellow color. Its long sleeves ended in white lace and the neckline was not low which Kyu liked.

She changed and washed her face in the store's small bathroom. Kyu folded her old clothes and put them in her backpack to wash later. She left some money on the counter to pay for the dress, and stood in the mirror admiring its craftsmanship. She needed an alias now. As she stared in the mirror it came to her suddenly and she smiled.

"How about Kyoko?" She asked her reflection.


	11. Chapter 11

Austin had just finished reading the mission file on his computer and he let out a low whistle. _This young lady has quite the rap sheet_. He thought to himself and spun around on his swivel chair. He had rented an apartment in the city while he was there. The space was small with hardly any furniture. The wallpaper was peeling, and it smelled musty. He got up from his desk and walked over to the spot on the floor where Umbreon was sleeping. He tapped the pokemon's head to wake it up. Umbreon stood up and stretched while Austin walked over to his closet to change. He put on a brown jacket and suit pants.

He was going under cover as a newspaper writer to get close to where Kyu had last been seen. He grabbed a fedora from the coat hanger by the door and called,

"Come on Umbreon." The pokemon followed his master out the door, down the hall, and down two flights of stairs. They stepped out into the bright afternoon sun and started down the crowded street. A mile down the road he spotted a young girl with long brown ponytails in a yellow dress standing in the middle of the sidewalk. She was very pale and her bright green eyes were unfocused as she stared at nothing. Austin approached the girl and asked concerned,

"Miss, are you okay?" The girl startled and looked at him surprised. There was something off about the girl Austin couldn't put his finger on. She blushed, nodded, and continued down the street. It wasn't good for such a cute girl to be so spacey he thought. What if someone snatched her? He and his pokemon continued to the overcrowded subway, and caught the train across town. Austin noticed he was the only one that got off at the stop.

As they left the train station Austin could see this part of Tokyo was run down. The buildings were packed together and crumbling. It looked like the place gangs would hang out in. After another block he came to an alley that was blocked off by police tape. The officer on guard was asleep because no one came to this part of town so his job was very boring. Austin smiled at his luck and squeezed into the alley.

"Okay Umbreon do your thing." He told his pokemon. Umbreon barked and put his nose to the ground. Austin followed the pokemon through the passage ways until the space opened up. He pulled out his camera and began taking pictures of the evidence. _What luck_ he thought, the police had even left the body tape in place. Then he stood back and began to piece together what had happened.

"Can you track her sent?" He asked his pokemon. Umbreon barked twice which meant; no he couldn't track the sent. _Just my luck Austin_ thought. He snuck back out of the cramped alley, and turned to leave. Then he thought better of it and went over to the cop.

"Hey buddy, wake up." He said poking the police man. The officer startled awake, and asked,

"Who are you? State your business." Austin pulled out his fake press pass and told him,

"I'm from the newspaper who can I ask for information about this case?" The cop frowned and scratched his head.

"I didn't think people knew about this case. Heard it was classified."

"What are you kidding me? This things all over the news, man."

"Well I guess you could ask to talk to special agent Toshiko. She's in charge of the ongoing investigation." Austin grinned and told the man thanks. Then he began to walk back to the train station. Well, at least he knew who was also after Kyu. Now all he had to do to keep the police out of it was to lay down a fake trail. Then he could search for Kyu without any interference.


	12. Chapter 12

Kyu was lost. She had been headed to the address she had gotten from the trafficker, but the streets seemed to have changed from the last time she was in Tokyo. Ninetales had tried to come with her, but the pokemon would attract too much attention in the crowded parts of the city. She pulled at one of the annoying ponytails she had put her hair in. Ninetales told her it helped her look more innocent than her normal one ponytail. Kyu glanced around the street looking for some kind of map or sign when an odd feeling struck her.

She could only describe it as a feeling of what could-have-been. She pictured herself living in Tokyo with a family on her way to a friend's house wearing her yellow dress, and she had gotten lost on the way there. She imagined arriving at the friend's house and laughing about her bad sense of direction with them. The feeling was so strong and realistic, that for a few moments she lost touch with the real world. Suddenly someone asked,

"Miss, are you okay?" Kyu snapped back to reality. Her first thought was that the black haired man was an enemy, but she quickly dismissed it. She pretended to be a normal young girl by blushing and nodding. Kyu continued on her way still lost and wishing she had asked for directions. She was so distracted she ran right into someone. They both fell back on to the hard pavement. _Something must be wrong with me today. _She thought. Normally she was more alert than a Sentret.

The person she bumped into jumped up from the street and said,

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry I should have been more careful." It was a girl with spikey red hair and bright pink eyes. She offered a hand to Kyu. Kyu grabbed it with caution, and the girl pulled her up. Thinking how best to portray an innocent little girl Kyu said,

"No I'm sorry I really should have been watching were I was going." She brushed her dress off like she thought a normal person would and smiled. The girl smiled back, and said.

"I'm Liz Kimiko. What's your name?" Kyu realized she had, in her haste, forgotten to come up with a last name. On the spot she quickly came up with one.

"I'm Kyoko Hayashi. It's nice to meet you." Kyu told her. For some reason Kyu thought Liz looked familiar. Liz noticed her preoccupied look and asked,

"Is something wrong? Maybe I can help." Kyu was about to tell her no thanks when she thought better of it and said sweetly,

"Yes I'm actually lost…I was on my way to a friend's house, but now I have no idea where I am. Do you think you could point me in the right direction?" _How adorable!_ Liz thought. _This poor sweet girl is lost. Time for Liz to save the day!_

"Yes I'm sure I could, where is it?" Liz asked. Relieved Kyu told her the address. She was running out of time to get there. Liz smiled she knew where this was.

"I know where this is, and I'll do more than tell you how to get there! I'll take you there!" She told Kyu. _She wants to show me there?! What do I do? If I say no it will be suspicious, but I don't want to drag this girl into danger? I know, I'll let her take me close then tell her I know where I am so she'll leave._ Kyu thought.

"Oh thank you so much!" Kyu tried to sound relived. Liz led her to a train station nearby talking the whole way. Kyu half listened as Liz talked about clothes, cute boys, and other normal things that seemed foreign to Kyu. The train ride took them to the west side of Tokyo. They left the crowded train station Liz dragging Kyu by the hand, and went out on to the street.

This part of Tokyo was middle class, mostly apartment complexes. They walked the streets passing joggers and people walking dog pokemon. Liz talked the whole way down the road too, but Kyu began to soften to Liz's cheerful nature and carefree attitude. Liz took her down the street and asked,

"We're almost there now. What's your friend like?" Kyu thought about it. She had never met the boy she was going to see, so she needed to make something up.

"Well, she's a lot like you, to be honest." Kyu said, and thought if she was a normal girl she would want to be friends with Liz.

"Really? Haha I'd love to meet her. You should introduce me sometime." Liz giggled.

"Thank you so much. I'm okay I can find my way from here." Kyu told her.

"You sure? Okay well I hope I see you around Kyoko."

"Yes I hope I see you too, thank you." Kyu said and she meant it. As Liz walked away, and for the second time that day Kyu imagined what-could-have-been, except this time the friend she was looking for was Liz.


	13. Chapter 13

Kyu found a large bush and hid inside it to change into her "Work clothes". She put on her familiar silver jumpsuit, and short black jacket. Then she laced on her black combat boots, put her hair back into her waist long single ponytail, and finally loaded her twin pistols. She didn't need a mask for this job. Kyu snuck out of the hedge and climbed to the roof of the town house across from her by going up the ivy vines that grew on its wall. Now she was safe from view by civilians. Nobody bothered to look up at the sky in Tokyo.

She jumped from one apartment complex to the next. Luckily they were no more than a few feet apart, and three floors high. Kyu reached the apartment complex she was looking for, and dropped down to the sidewalk, then quickly entered the lobby. There were no people around which struck Kyu as odd. She knew something was wrong, but she had to make sure the boy wasn't here still. She had to make sure she got to him before those people did.

Kyu did not want what had happened to her to happen to anybody else. She stealthily crept up the stairs, and stopped on the third floor. Silently she crept up to apartment 305 and listened. She could hear footsteps of at least three people. Then Kyu noticed the door was kicked in and knew she was too late. _Shit._ She felt the floor and could tell by the vibrations that two people were in the first room and one was in a separate room. Unfortunately she needed them alive.

Kyu took a bullet from her ammo belt and threw it down the hall where it landed with a _plink_! She heard a man ask,

"Did you here that?" Next came the sound of his footsteps approaching the door. Kyu backed up and hid behind an ugly fake plant as the man stepped out into the dimly lit hall. She waited for him to call to his companions,

"It's nothing we're still clear!" then she pounced grabbing him around the neck. The man was large and powerfully built, but Kyu was fast and had surprised him. He grunted as Kyu crushed his wind pipe so he could no longer call out. He pulled his gun to shoot at her, but in one swift move Kyu jabbed him in the neck. She hit a pressure point and the man crumpled to the floor like a rag doll.

Wanting to end it quickly Kyu kicked the door in and fired two precise shots at the man in the living room. One hit his gun hand; the other nicked his temple, and knocked him out instantly. At the sound of the gun shots a woman appeared in the doorway that lead to a kitchen and returned fire. Kyu dived behind a couch, and grabbed a cushion. Head still down, Kyu threw the couch cushion at the woman. It hit her square in the face, and surprised the lady. Kyu jumped over the couch and as the woman threw the pillow away from her, Kyu roundhouse kicked her across the face into the wall.

_That takes care of them._ Kyu thought. She began to carry the unconscious people into the living room relieving them of their weapons. As she tied them to chairs Kyu felt bad about the blood stains she had made on the nice carpet.


	14. Chapter 14

Kyu finished setting up her interrogation location and stepped back to admire her handy work. The goons were tied to dining chairs back to back. The couch was set up across from them and she had cleaned up the blood from earlier. Kyu nodded turned off the lights and waited. She didn't have to wait long before one of them; the big guy with the mustache woke up. He looked around, got his bearings, and kicked his companions in the shins.

"Wake up! We got a problem." Mustache man said. The woman woke up next and glanced around. Then said,

"Shit this is bad." The two of them kicked the bald guy that had been shot in the hand until he woke up too.

"Wass goin on?" He asked groggily. Kyu knew that when people thought they were among friends the tended to talk freely without assuming someone else was listening, and they could not see her in the dark. She needed to know where they had taken the boy.

"We got caught by some punk asses that's what's going on." The woman said.

"Did you see how many men?" Mustache man asked.

"I only saw some kid. I didn't get a good look it happened so fast." Baldy told them.

"Yeah a girl, I think." The lady said. They then discussed that it had to be more than one girl, and decided that it was a five man team at least. Kyu wondered if she should show herself to get them talking when Mustache man said,

"Well, we delivered the package at least. When they send a cleanup team they will come looking for us. As long as we don't talk they should rescue us." The others agreed with him. They discussed who had captured them. Thinking maybe the police or a privet military.

"What was so special about that kid anyway? He was only eight. I seen scarier Oddish." The bald one said and the other two laughed. A twinge of anger ran through Kyu.

"Did you hear him crying when I put the gun to his mommy's head? Screaming 'No don't kill her!' like a baby. Then he started using that weird ass power. What a freak, I'm glad we got him away from any normal people." The woman said. They started laughing again, and Kyu's anger peeked. Calmly she sat on the couch, flicked on the light, and asked coldly

"Having fun?" The laughter stopped abruptly. The silence was deafening. They could feel Kyu radiating waves of cold anger. They stared at Kyu open mouthed.

"It…it...can't be…" The Mustache man stuttered. They all knew of the stories. Tokyo's master assassin, the prodigy child Kyu. The rumors said she could take out a small army by herself, and rode on the back of a legendary pokemon.

"No…it's a trick…Kyu isn't real." The woman said shakily. Kyu got up and slowly walked towards them.

"That hurts you know. I already don't exist to the government. I don't like it when people say that I'm not real right to my face." Kyu said sickeningly sweetly. She walked over to the woman and pulled out one of her pistols.

"I also don't like when people threaten innocent families." Kyu said softly. She held the gun up to the woman's head, and asked

"Now what were you laughing about before? Something about holding a gun to a mommy's head?" The woman was sweating badly now, and the men said nothing. Kyu flicked the safety off the gun, and pushed the ice cold barrel harder against the woman's skull.

"Why don't you tell me what she said?" Kyu asked emotionless. The woman said shakily,

"Please…You need us alive..." Kyu sighed. The woman was shaking badly now, and Baldy was breathing faster now.

"I really don't need any of you. There are less messy ways of finding things out, but this is faster. And I don't need all of you…So tell me who hired you, and where you took that little boy?" Kyu asked sweetly. The woman hesitated then said,

"A man…named…named…Conway…" Kyu sighed then told the woman,

"It's not nice to lie. I know that the company Vexa hired you. I did hope you would think your life more valuable than your job." The woman was hysterical now and shrieked,

"No Please!"

"How many innocent people have you killed that have screamed those same words?" Kyu pulled the trigger. There was a _bang_ and the woman slumped over, lifeless. A pool of blood was forming underneath her.

"And I just cleaned that rug too." Kyu said sadly.

The Bald man was hyperventilating, and the man with mustache was shaking. Kyu was more ruthless then he would have ever imagined. She turned to him now.

"I'm going to ask you where you took him, and if your answer's not the same as Blady's then you're going to wish I had shot you." Kyu said coldly. Both men replied a boat house on the Sumida River. Kyu smiled cutely and then shot them both in the head. Kyu always killed as many of Vexa's henchmen as she could. Then she turned and ran after the boy they had taken, leaving a mess in apartment 305 that would be discovered by the maid the next morning.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys I'm going away for a few days and I won't be able to post new stuff, but I'll be back soon. Thanks for all the support! – Pogokitten :3**

It took Kyu a few hours to get to the boat house. Tomorrow night was the night of the Tokyo Bay Fireworks festival, and the streets, subways, and buses were full of people visiting for one of the most famous fireworks displays in the world. The boat house was near where the Sumida River flowed into Tokyo Bay, and getting past all the workers setting things up was a nightmare.

Kyu had changed back into her civilian disguise so she wouldn't have to be even slower by sneaking around the crowds. Though she had left her combat boots on, they didn't attract as much attention as she would have thought. After pushing past two more burly workers Kyu saw the boat house. It was small and made of wood. It looked old, its roof sagged, and the dock out over the river was rotten and broken. The door and the windows looked new though. A car was parked out front. It was obvious someone was hiding something here.

Kyu crept around to the water side of the house. Here she found the wall had rotted. The wooden boards had withered away in the river water and left gaps between them. Kyu peered through the space and in the weak afternoon light saw three figures standing around a shape. The one in the middle was shorter than the other two. The huddled thing on the floor moved, and the short figure kicked it. Kyu figured this was the boy on the ground, and she had a sneaking suspicion who the short one in the middle was.

Kyu could not hear what was being said because of the flowing river and the rotten dock creaking and slapping the water. She had to come up with something and fast. She was certain this was just a holding spot until they could smuggle the boy onto a boat. That was what they had done with Kyu anyway. She reached under her dress to get her pistols when Kyu heard a creak that was distinctively louder than the ones she had been hearing.

To late Kyu spun around and something hard hit her in the side of the head. She saw stars and everything went black. Kyu woke up a few hours later. Darkness had fallen, and for a moment she could not tell where she was. Then she heard the flowing of the river water and realized she was in the boat house. Her hands and feet were bound and her weapons were gone. A bump was forming on her head where the butt of the gun had hit her.

Then she saw the boy huddled up next to her. His hair was shaggy and blonde and his dirty face was tear streaked. He was not looking at Kyu and had not noticed she was up. The room seamed empty, but Kyu figured the people were still here somewhere.

"Hey kid, what's your name?" Kyu whispered softly. The boy jolted and whipped around his eyes the same bright green as Kyu's, were wide eyed and terrified. When he saw who had spoken he calmed down a little and whispered,

"You were so pale I thought you were dead."

"No I'm always this pale."

"Who are you?" he asked softly.

"Nope you first you never told me your name." Kyu whispered as she sat up with some difficulty. Then she coughed and blood speckled the floor. _Shit now was not a good time for this_. She thought.

"Felix Takashi. Why are you here?"

"I'm Kyu. I came to rescue you."

"You're not doing very well." Felix said. Kyu reddened and said,

"I usually have my partner here for help…" Felix started to cry softly. Kyu felt bad. She was supposed to have saved this kid not gotten herself caught with him. But she wasn't about to give up, she had gotten out of worse situations than this. Kyu was about to tell Felix just that, when a voice came from the gloom.

"Looks like you finally woke up Kyu. It's been a long time, I thought you would have been harder to catch than this, but I guess the rumors were just hype." The voice was high and full of venom as only a woman's voice can be. The sound of high heels tapping against the wooden floor approached them and a girl stepped out of the darkness.

She was short with long glossy back hair. She was beautiful like a white tiger. The woman had a smooth face and perfect skin. Her ice blue eyes glinted in the dark, and she wore a skin tight black leather dress.

"I can't say I'm pleased to see you Victoria." Kyu told her mockingly. But Victoria smiled and told her slyly,

"You never told me you were so special Kyu. My employers will pay three times as much for you as they did for that boy. Who knew you could make so much money selling Gifted."


	16. Chapter 16

Kyu paled at the word "Gifted", and Victoria smiled knowingly. The damp of the wooden floor seeped into Kyu, causing her to shiver. Felix looked confused, as he glanced from one girl to the other. Victoria walked up to Kyu and kneelt down.

"You've been on Vexa's most wanted list for a long time. I always used to wonder why they wanted you alive. Then I started working 'find and deliver' missions for them, and it's not hard to guess what they want from you." Victoria's ice chip eyes danced happily in the dark boat house. Kyu's breathing had started to become a little more labored.

"But my question is how you're still alive. They thought you were dead for five years, and then you showed up and started killing their investors three years ago." Victoria said running her long painted nails down Kyu's arm, while Kyu tried not to flinch. Victoria pulled up the other girl's long yellow sleeve, exposing the thin scars that covered her arm.

"But what I really want to know is how you actually got those scars. I am certain most of them aren't from all those years of fighting." Victoria told her. Felix stared at the crisscross pattern sticking out from below the yellow sleeve. Kyu broke out in a cold sweat, though she did her best to hide her terror. Victoria noticed her captive's fear, and smiled at the effect she was having on Kyu, but it was not Victoria Kyu was afraid of.

Victoria's phone rang and she stood up to answer it. After some time she turned back to Kyu and Felix and said,

"Bad news kids, the boat is late and won't be here until tomorrow night. I guess you'll just have to sleep over tonight. As much as I'd love to stay I have some important business to attend to, so my friends here will stay with you." She pointed to the two burly figures by the door. Then she blew them a kiss and exited the boat house. The two guards stayed by the door their outlines just noticeable in predawn light.

"Do you know her?" Felix asked Kyu. Kyu nodded and said,

"Yeah we worked together a few times. I never liked her much." Felix's bright light emerald eyes stared into hers. _He must only be about eight_ Kyu thought and he asked,

"Why do they want me? Or you?"

"Because we're special. You have a power of some kind right?" Kyu said slowly and Felix nodded. "I can raise a pokemon's level, you can do something like that, can't you Felix?" Kyu asked him. The boy nodded sadly and said,

"I can make their attack power stronger by a little bit. I used to do it with my Squirtle until my dad saw me. He yelled at me and took Squirtle away." Felix began to cry again. "He said bad thing might happen if anyone saw me. I did it again to help a friend in a battle a few months ago though…I guess the other kids told people….I didn't want..." Felix sniffled and tried to calm down.

The guards brought over bowls of dirty river water. They made sure to dump some on the two of them, snickering as they did before going back to their post. Felix took a thirsty mouthful and wiped his face. Kyu's insides felt like they were on fire. She hoped Ninetales was out looking for her. Struggling to speak around the pain she asked,

"What happened when they took you?" Felix looked away and put his dirty water bowl down.

"Me and my mommy were home; my dad was away on a work trip. Three people broke into our apartment. My mommy and I screamed, and tried to call for help but nobody answered us. A man said 'We tricked them into leaving, no one is here now'. My mommy tried to fight them with her pokemon, but one of them grabbed her. I got scared and used my power on one of her pokemon, and then a big one hit me and I fell asleep...when I woke up…my mommy wasn't there anymore…I don't know where..." Felix began to sob again.

Suddenly Kyu's breath was stolen as pain racked her body. She coughed. And more blood splattered the floor. Sweat glistened on her forehead. Felix looked at her concerned. She looked really sick; at least he was pretty sure coughing up blood wasn't good.


	17. Chapter 17

_I knew I should have listened to Ninetales. I waited too long again_. Kyu thought as another spasm of pain ran through her. Felix was looking at her concerned, and Kyu knew she needed to pull herself together. Her life wouldn't be in danger for at least another 12 hours. It was some time in the afternoon judging by the bright sunlight. They had a little time before the boat came for them.

Felix looked exhausted. The boy's eye lids drooped and his face was pale. Kyu was also fatigued and her face had gone from sheet white to ashen gray. The sounds of the river and the gentle drip of water falling began to lull the captives to sleep. Kyu knew that she must stay awake to find a chance to escape, but in her weakened state she was fighting a losing battle. As she stared at the dust dancing in the strips of light coming from the wooden roof, she drifted to sleep.

_The building was burning and Ninetales was standing over top of her. Fire covered the walls. People were shouting to one another trying to save as many things as they could from the blaze. The heat was intense and smoke filled her already struggling lungs. What about the girl? Someone asked. Leave her she is as good as dead anyway. Someone answers. Her insides felt like molten lava. Kyu thought she would be panicking, but she was strangely calm. It would be a relief to give into the darkness gathering at the edge her vision… _

A loud shriek shattered Kyu's dream. Her eyes shot open to see in the now dim twilight, Felix hanging off of Victoria's hand by his teeth. The boy bit down harder drawing another yell of pain from her. It seemed Victoria had gotten a little closer to Felix's mouth than she should have. Victoria raised her hand to hit him, and Kyu sprang into action. Like a Diglett out of a hole, she shot up and rammed her head into Victoria's chin. Victoria's head whipped back, she dropped like a bag of bricks, and the guards ran towards her. Kyu then turned to Felix and said,

"Quick! Take her knife and cut the rope!" With fumbling hands Felix retrieved the knife from Victoria's belt, and began sawing the rope restraining Kyu's feet. The guards had just reached them when the first rope fell away. Ignoring the protest from her seething insides Kyu pushed herself into a handstand. As a guard raised his gun Kyu grabbed him around the neck by her legs and twisted his vertebrae which snapped.

The man fell to the ground his neck at an extreme angle. The other man shot at her, but Kyu rolled out of the way, grabbed the knife from Felix and threw it. With deadly accuracy it hit the other man directly between his eyes. He fell to the ground in a pool of blood. Kyu then lay on the ground panting. She rolled over and spat up another mouthful of blood. Felix went over to the guard with the knife in his head, and trying not to puke pulled the weapon from his forehead. He knelt by Kyu and began to cut through the other rope with the bloody knife.

"We're just lucky they didn't think you were trouble enough to tie up." Kyu told him. Blood dripped from her mouth turning her lips a cherry red. As the rope fell away, the wall exploded showering them with dust and pieces of old wood.

"Kyu! Are you unhurt?" Ninetales called. He strode through the splintered remains of the wall and spotted her. He raced over to Kyu and sniffed her. Felix had backed far away from the large beast. He had never seen a pokemon that big, nor had he ever seen one that talked like a person. It had an aura about it that scared Felix a little. He could tell this pokemon was ancient and powerful. Was this the partner Kyu had mentioned?

"I told you not to wait this long. You are in a terrible state." Ninetales said scathingly. Kyu's only reply was a moan. Ninetales knelt down and laid his head on Kyu's chest. For a few moments nothing happened, and then a bright blue light enveloped Kyu and the pokemon. It was beautiful and powerful. The light filled the entire building. It made the hairs on the back of Felix's neck stand up. It gave him the feeling of sorrow, he sensed it was precious. The light quickly faded, but Felix wished he could have stayed in that brilliant blue a little longer.

Ninetales lifted his head and Kyu stood up. Some of the color had returned to her face, and she wiped the blood from her mouth.

"It is a temporary fix and will not hold for long. When we return I shall heal you properly." The pokemon said. Ninetales looked suddenly tired. Kyu hugged the pokemon's neck and then told Felix,

"We need to get away. The boat will be here soon and they'll come looking for us." She took his hand and led him to the pokemon. Kyu lifted the boy and placed him on the pokemon's back. Felix shifted uncomfortably on top of Ninetales. He didn't think he should be riding on the back of such a powerful being like it was a Ponyta.

"Ninetales take him back to the loft. I'll lead the others away. We need to make plans to get Felix out of Japan." Kyu told the pokemon.

"But you are in no condition to fight." Ninetales protested.

"Don't worry I'm going to lead them to the bay, and I'll lose them in the crowds. There are thousands of people there to watch the fireworks." Kyu told him. The pokemon agreed reluctantly, and sped off into the night with Felix clinging tightly to his back. Kyu turned and ran into the night making sure to leave an obvious trail behind her. At the same time the Liz and Maggie also raced towards the bay.


	18. Chapter 18

Maggie had been discharged from the hospital yesterday, and returned to her apartment in downtown Tokyo. It was a nice big space for downtown. Maggie enjoyed interior design and her apartment was changed often to the newest style. It was early morning and she had just finished showering. Maggie was sipping her morning tea when her phone rang. She walked out of the kitchen into the living room, and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?...Yes this is Toshiko…Roger…I'll meet you there." Maggie put down her tea cup and rushed to her bedroom to get ready. 15 minutes later she locked her apartment door and hopped in the elevator. She jogged to the garage and jumped in her Audie. The car screeched out of the parking garage with its sirens blaring, and sped down the street.

She arrived in a residential area full of apartment complexes, not unlike her own. A medical examiner van and several police cars were parked out front. Maggie entered the building and ascended the stairs to the third floor. She was met in the hall way by Liz. The rookie ran to her and Maggie asked,

"What's the situation?" Liz looked worried as they walked down the hall to apartment 305, and said,

"The building maid found three bodies in the living room. She screamed and ran to the police. Dr. Inuita was called and he is looking them over."

Maggie and Liz ducked under the police tape across the door way and were appalled by the sight. Three bodies were tied to chairs in the middle of the room. The carpet was stained dark brown with blood, and more stained the walls. Stepping cautiously Maggie made her way over to the medical examiner Dr. Howard Inuita. The man was short, but muscular. His hair was graying, and his Golduck sat beside him sniffing the bodies. He had once told Maggie that he worked with Golduck because the pokemon could smell and sense things he couldn't.

"What have you got Doc?" Maggie asked him. The man turned his attention away from the corpses and told her,

"Well my first impression is that the cause of death was being shot at point blank. I'd guess all by the same pair of guns." Maggie nodded and asked,

"Who are they?"

"We asked the maid and she said she has never seen them before. The door showed signs of forced entry. We also found weapons locked in the bathroom." The doctor explained.

"Okay, but who killed them? They look like they might have been interrogated or were held hostage. Who lives here?"

"The maid told us a family of three does. The mother and son are missing, and the husband is out of town on business. He has been contacted, so he should return soon." Dr. Inuita looked thoughtful and spoke again,

"Golduck and I agree that it looks like two different, yet overlapping crime scenes." Maggie pondered this for a moment. _Two separate yet connected crime scenes…First a forced entry possible robbery or kidnaping, then a different person appeared and took these guys out…_

"Do we have any witnesses?" Maggie asked.

"You should ask Miss Kimiko, she was in charge of getting statements." The doctor said. Maggie turned away and headed over to where Liz was standing looking upset. Maggie called the rookie's name three times before she responded.

"Oh sorry! Um yes ma'am did you need something?"

"What is wrong with you today? I need you to be focused." Maggie said exasperated.

"Sorry…I'm just worried. I showed a girl the way to this neighborhood yesterday, so I'm a bit worried about her…" Liz said softly. Maggie softened a bit and asked,

"Did you get any statements?" The younger girl nodded and told Maggie,

"Yes a few people said they saw those three people enter the building. Sometime later the tenants all left the building quickly. They then claim they spotted a young girl with long brown hair go inside about two hours later." Suddenly Maggie felt like she had just been plunged into ice water. Could it be Kyu? Had she killed these people so brutally, and what about the mom and son who lived here?


	19. Chapter 19

The crime scene investigators continued to pick the apartment apart for several more hours. Sometime in the afternoon an intact bullet was found in the hallway. All the detectives gathered around Dr. Inuita who doubled as the assistant forensic scientist. The doctor held the silver bullet in his calloused hands, studying it. He allowed Golduck to sniff it then he spoke,

"It appears to be a custom bullet, for a pistol I'd guess. Golduck communicated to me that there seems to still be a traceable scent on it." At this there was excited murmuring. They had been lucky enough to find intact traceable evidence. Maggie turned to one of her men and said,

"Get the pokemon tracking unit, quick!" A man rushed away to make the call, and 20 minutes later the gray van printed with the letters PTU skidded into the complex parking lot. Maggie ran outside to meet them with Liz and Dr. Inuita hot on her tail. The pokemon handler was a tall muscular woman named Rachel. Her dark green curls bounced as she exited the van and began getting the pokemon out.

The first pokemon she released from a pokeball was a Mightyena. This pokemon was trained well, as it sat still as a statue waiting for instructions. The next pokemon was a Luxray. It glared at Maggie's group as they approached, and finally Rachel sent out Fearow. The large bird pokemon flapped its wings impatiently, while Maggie reached Rachel.

"I brought the best trackers I have. Now what are we chasing?" Rachel asked Maggie smiling. Maggie and Rachel were old friends from school, and Maggie trusted Rachel more than she trusted herself. Dr. Inuita stepped forward and held out his latex gloved hand. On it rested the silver bullet shining innocently in the late afternoon sun.

"Miss Toshiko believes we are after a young girl. This bullet contains traces of her scent." The doctor told her. Rachel nodded and puzzled asked,

"What did she do? Steal her parents' credit cards?"

"We believe she killed three people, and may have kidnapped two others." Maggie said. Rachel let out a low whistle, and responded,

"Why didn't ya say so? We better get a move on." She pointed out the bullet to her pokemon, who sniffed it and took off down the street, Fearow searching from the sky. Maggie, Liz, Rachel, and three other police men followed the pokemon down the crowded streets. The search was taking too long. With so many people around, the scents were jumbled together, and the pokemon often had to double back to find the scent again.

The group followed the pokemon for several miles towards the Sumida River and Tokyo Bay. Dusk had fallen now and the streets were crowded for the festival. They soon had to stop because the pokemon had lost the scent completely. As they stood near the river Maggie desperately tried to come up with a way to follow Kyu without the pokemon.

Just then a man broke away from the crowds headed for the bay, and ran to the police officers. He stopped in front of Maggie and said,

"Thank the Legendaries you got here so fast! The boat house is this way." He had a heavy Indian accent and Maggie thought she had misheard until Rachel asked,

"What boat house?" The man looked at her blankly.

"The one we called about. The boat house with the bodies in it." He told them. The group looked at each other in surprise. Could they have gotten lucky? They followed the man to a destroyed wooden boat house on the river. A wall had been broken down, and it looked ready to fall over. Inside were the bodies of two men beneath piles of splintered wood. Liz called the department to tell them about their new discovery while the man told Maggie what he knew.

"My coworkers and I found it like this a half hour ago. We were very shocked because we had just been through here earlier in the day. This is an old boat house I did not think anyone used it anymore." He said to her. _Good the crime scene must not be very old_ Maggie thought. Indeed the blood from one of the men still looked fresh.

"Did you see anything else?" Maggie asked him. The man hesitated then spoke,

"If I tell you what I think I saw, then you must promise not to scorn my words." Maggie nodded, and the man said,

"As I was walking to the payphone to call the police I saw something very strange and amazing. I did not get a clear look, but I swear I saw a small boy riding on the back of the Sacred Beast Entei… They took off into the trees." The man's eyes were filled with awe as he spoke. Maggie was disappointed. The man seemed to be a bit mad. Everyone knew the Legendary pokemon were no more than myths and legends. Most religions treated them as gods, but no one had ever proven they existed.

But suddenly Maggie spotted something on a bush. She went over to it and found a few strands of long brown hair. Excitement coursed through her. This had to be Kyu's hair! Maybe she had been in a rush to get away and torn some of it off on the shrub. As she examined the ground she found traces of a trail. A footprint here, some flattened grass there… She called her team over, and told the man a secondary team would be at the boat house soon.

Maggie's small group took off down the river following the trail. Liz had her Eevee out following the scent too just to be sure. As they hurried along, Maggie realized the evidence led towards the bay and the enormous crowd of people waiting for the fireworks. Maggie knew they could never follow the scent or trail in that amount of people, Kyu had led her pursuers here so she could lose them. But Maggie wasn't about to give up yet.

"We'll search manually in team of two! Liz you come with me! She can't have gotten far!" Maggie yelled above the noise of the mob. Maggie and Liz began to push their way through the crowd. People were everywhere. Young, old, tall, short, and hair of all colors and lengths. Just as Maggie was about to give up, she spotted someone from behind. The girl was in a yellow dress. She had long brown hair, and stood the same height as Kyu. _It's her!_ Maggie rushed forward and grabbed the girl by the shoulder as Liz cried,

"Wait!"


	20. Chapter 20

The girl in the yellow dress spun around shocked to face Maggie. She had startlingly bright green eyes. She was very cute, but her hair and dress were a mess. For some reason she was wearing combat boots. Maggie knew as soon as she saw the girl's pale innocent face that this was not Kyu. The girl looked confused until she spotted Liz, and broke into a grin.

"Liz! I didn't know you were a police officer." she said pointing to Liz's shinny badge. Liz blushed and said,

"Kyoko! It's nice to see you again." Maggie was baffled. Liz knew this girl who looked like Kyu from the back? Liz turned to Maggie and said,

"I was trying to tell you that I knew this girl before you so rudely grabbed her." Maggie stepped forward, and embarrassed bowed her head in apology.

"I'm Special Agent Maggie Toshiko. Please excuse my mistake; I thought you were somebody else." Maggie was blushing furiously, but the girl just smiled softly and told her,

"That's fine I was hoping I would run into Liz again. She was very kind to help me after I was lost. I was afraid she would be worried after she heard about the murders in that neighborhood. Oh your pokemon is so cute!" Kyoko pointed at Liz's Eevee. Maggie was impressed with the way Kyoko held herself. She was like a spring flower that didn't want attention on herself, but failed at hiding. Her manners made Liz and Maggie look like untaught children. _She could pass as a princess_, Maggie thought.

As Maggie stared at the girl, the fireworks started. They exploded in all the colors of Ho-oh's tail, illuminating the bay. Kyoko gazed at them, her expression full of awe, and sorrow. For a moment all three of them forgot about everything as they watched the heavens erupt with light. An unusual hush had fallen on the mob of people.

"They're beautiful aren't they?" Maggie asked. Kyoko smiled sadly and said,

"This is my first time ever seeing fireworks." Maggie and Liz looked at her in disbelief.

"How can this be your first time?" Liz asked. Kyoko's gaze darkened for a fraction of a second. It was so subtle and fast Maggie thought she had imagined it.

"I was always traveling around, and I never got a chance." Kyoko said emotionless. Something in her voice reminded Maggie what she had been doing before, and she gasped.

"Come on Liz we still have to find her!" Maggie said swiftly. Liz snapped out of her thoughts and nodded.

"Bye Kyoko! We're chasing somebody! If you want come by the Central West Police head quarters and see me!" Liz said as Maggie started pulling her away.

"A criminal? I hope you find them!" Kyoko called as the officers disappeared into the crowd. The girl in the yellow dress turned her face to the night sky, which was full of fireworks, and grinned slyly. Maggie and Liz were once again fighting their way through the crowds towards the edge of the people. Suddenly Liz's Eevee picked up the scent again. The two girls chased after it, hearts in their throats. It led them to a side street leading away from the bay. As they sprinted down the road, neither saw the dark haired man and his Umbreon hiding behind a corner wearing a grin that matched Kyoko's.

Maggie and Liz followed Eevee down the street well passed 1 in the morning. When Eevee suddenly lost the scent on the deserted street, Maggie knew the trail had been fake. They had wasted hours following false leads, and Kyu was long gone.


	21. Chapter 21

Kyu reached her loft just as Maggie and Liz gave up the search for her. The loft was actually the top floor of an abandoned art studio. The windows were shattered, and the gray brick walls were full of holes. The roof sagged, and the shingles were falling off. The place was said to be haunted by ghosts, so people stayed away. Indeed the place was very creepy at night. Kyu slipped around to the back of the building, and climbed a ladder that led to a gaping hole in the wall on the second floor.

The old floor boards creaked with protest as she crossed the open space to a rickety flight of rusted metal stairs. The space was covered in dust, and there were large sections of boards missing. Scattered around the room were broken sculptures, torn canvases, and an assortment of art supplies. Eight wooden support beams ran from floor to ceiling around the area.

Kyu's footsteps were muffled by the coating of dust, as she made her way up to the top floor. This room was much like the other floor, except that it lacked the clutter left over from the studio, and it had rafters hidden in the darkness of the high ceiling. Felix and Ninetales sat at the other end of the loft on an old quilt. Both turned their heads in her direction as she crossed the floor.

Felix was glad for her company, the Ninetales had not spoken a single word on their way to the loft, and he felt awkward. Just as he was about to greet her, Felix noticed something in the rafters. He shrieked as he realized it was a group of Shuppet. The ghost pokemon stuck their tongues out at him and dissolved into the shadows. Ghost pokemon frightened him. Felix remembered a story his dad had told him about a Shuppet. The pokemon had liked to hide in the houses of vengeful or envious people, and the people would soon be devoured by the ghost pokemon.

Though it was true Shuppet liked the aura of vengeful humans, they would usually leave the humans alone except when provoked. Kyu did not mind the ghost pokemon. They reminded her of herself. Most people were scared of them, and many didn't think they existed.

"Don't be scared Felix they won't hurt us. Those people might still be after us, so we need to get you out of Japan. I'm thinking a place in Norway where I hid for a few years." Kyu said as she handed him a can of red bean soup and a can opener from a box by the quilt. Felix didn't care where he went as long as it was away from here. Felix gulped down the food like a Munchlax, and Kyu asked,

"You said your dad was away. Do you know a way to get in touch with him?" After inhaling half a can of the soup he nodded, and told her,

"He told me his cell phone number to use in emergencies." Kyu nodded as she grabbed a can of salmon.

"Okay we'll have to use a payphone then." She took small bites of her salmon, as her stomach was still tied in knots from earlier. Kyu pushed the can away feeling queasy. Then she looked at Felix with a very serious expression.

"Listen closely Felix. Your survival and possibly your father's depend on whether or not you heed my words." Felix stopped eating the room had suddenly dropped in temperature. Ninetales shifted uneasily beside Kyu.

"You must not tell anyone were you are going. _Nobody._ Not even other family. You will have to come up with a new name, and you will always be on the run. Never show your powers to others. And remember it is always better to be killed than be taken alive." Kyu told him darkly. The boy had gone white as the reality of the situation crashed over him.

"Did…did those people who want me…Did they make those scars on you..?" Felix asked afraid of the answer. Kyu looked away and did not respond for some time.

"If you never let them catch you, then you won't ever have to find out." Kyu told him softly. They ate in silence after that. Kyu had started to cough up blood again, but she insisted that getting Felix to his dad and out of the country was more pressing. Ninetales insisted on coming with them this time. Kyu was in too much pain and too tired to argue, and so the group set off down the block to a payphone.

The street was quite as Felix inserted some coins and dialed his father. The voice on the other line sounded relived and frantic as his son told him what happened. The two began to argue loudly, until Kyu snatched the phone from the boy, and spoke into it.

"Hello sir what seems to be the problem?" She asked with fake sweetness in her voice.

"Who the hell is this?! Put my son back on!" Yelled a deep angry voice.

"That's a rude tone to talk to the person who saved your son in. Please try to calm down. Now what is your _fucking_ problem?" Kyu's voice was honey coated.

"Please tell me why we can't go to the cops, and put these bastards who tried to steal my boy in jail!"

"Because the government is in the bastards' pockets. Now if you want your son to be able to get away from said bastards, then come meet us without calling the police. I know someone who can help you escape Japan without passports. Okay? Bye-bye." Kyu chirped as she slammed the phone down on the receiver.

30 minutes later Kyu's group arrived at the rundown neighborhood she had set as the meeting place. The buildings were old, and battered. This area was famous for being the gang hideout for the feared Blue Charizard gang. Soon a man stepped under the street light by Kyu's group. He was tall and blonde like his son. Stubble covered his face, and he had bags under his eyes. Felix went to run to him, but Kyu stopped him.

"Hold on he could be a Ditto using transform." She glanced at Ninetales who sniffed the air then nodded. Kyu released Felix's arm, and he ran to his father. The boy had begun to cry again, as his father wrapped him in an embrace whispering,

"Oh…my boy…Oh thank Arceus…" Suddenly Kyu felt a twinge of jealousy. Ninetales sensed her emotions of envy. He was surprised because jealousy was not something he felt from Kyu often, and butted her in the shoulder. She smiled an apology at the pokemon, and hugged his neck. The man picked his son up and finally addressed Kyu.

"You saved him from those evil people…Thank you so much. Who are you?" He asked. Kyu smiled and said,

"I guess you could say we're kindred spirits. Now you haven't told anyone what you're doing right?" The man looked surprised at Kyu's implication, but nodded as his son sobbed on his shoulder.

"Good let's go meet my friend. She can get you out of Japan easy." Kyu coughed. She needed to finish this job and rest.

"Just who is this friend?" Felix's dad asked.

"The leader of the Blue Charizard gang of course."


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey guys. My friend told me that there is a lack of pokemon battle scenes, and she's right. So I'll make sure I add more. Enjoy! Don't be afraid to ask for scenes I could always use fresh ideas. - Pogokitten**

Kyu led the group deeper into gang territory. They had begun to attract attention from the members of the Blue Charizard. Ninetales's low growls kept them at bay, but the ragtag trespassers could still feel the members' eyes on them as they walked into the heart of their domain. Finally one was brave enough to step forward. It was a tall boy with glasses, and a nest of brown curls topped with blue highlights. He stood in Kyu's path stopping her from advancing. The boy's face was arrogant as he spoke,

"Do you know whose territory this is whelps? I suggest you turn back. Or do I have to force you out?" Kyu stepped into the streetlight her eyes narrowed tauntingly. The boy stepped back and gasped.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten me already Thomas." Kyu said playfully with an edge to her tone.

"Ky-Kyu…I-We thought you were dead." Thomas stuttered nervously. As he looked at her his terrified expression changed to one of suspicion.

"No it can't be Kyu. When I last saw her she was on death's doorstep. You must be a ditto trying to infiltrate! Well, I'll kill you where you stand for thinking you could trick us!" Thomas shouted wildly. He pulled an ultraball out of his pocket and sent out a Magnazone. The pokemon hovered, buzzing angrily.

"Now wait young man-" Felix's dad started.

"It's okay he's been like this since he was little. I have to prove it's me by defeating him." Kyu said feeling nostalgic. The last time she had seen Thomas he had been an annoying 12 year old. _I see his ego hasn't deflated at all_ she thought.

"Let's go Ninetales!" The huge pokemon bounded into the battle area. A group of onlookers from the gang gathered around to watch the fight. Thomas started the battle.

"Go! Use thunder!" The Magnazone shot a huge blue thunder bolt at Ninetales. The fox pokemon dodged easily, and countered with a powerful fire blast. It singed the electric pokemon, and Thomas shouted,

"No fair you're doing it again!" Kyu smiled and asked mockingly

"What am I doing?"

"You're telling it to do stuff without saying anything!" Kyu tilted her head in pretend confusion, and Thomas's face turned red.

"No fair you're cheating!" He whined. Ninetales shot forward and hit the opponent with a flame charge that sent the floating pokemon spinning.

"Magnazone use light screen!" The pokemon put up a glowing barrier. Ninetales used confuse ray, and Magnazone began to teeter in midair. Without any verbal commands from his partner Ninetales immediately followed it up with a bone shattering fire fang. Fuming Thomas yelled,

"Do something you hunk of metal! You're making me look bad!" The pokemon snapped out of confusion, and shot a thunderbolt at Ninetales. It hit the fire pokemon, but Ninetales shook it off. Thomas was really mad now. That attack had hardly done any damage. Kyu decided she wanted to show off a bit, and so finally she spoke to her pokemon,

"Let's finish it! Ninetales use fox fire!" The pokemon looked at her quizzically, but did as she told him. Ninetales eyes glowed red and he charged at the Magnazone. As he ran his fur caught fire turning him into a giant fox shaped fireball. It was a signature move he and Kyu had developed. He rammed into the other pokemon in a fiery explosion.

The Magnazone fell to the ground, knocked out cold. Thomas called the pokemon back, as the crowd of gang members watching ooooed and awed. Suddenly a person pushed her way through the crowd into the battle area. She was a curvy full woman with long blue hair. Her dark eyes sparkled with determination, and she said,

"Alright that's enough commotion! Thomas how many times do I have to tell you not to cause a scene! Now look at your poor pokemon! Just because I made you second in command you think you can do whatever you want!"

"But! Sis there are intruders here! I was trying to drive them out!" The young woman grabbed the boy by his ear, and pulled him up as he said ouch. She turned around to see the so called intruders, and broke into a grin as she spotted Kyu. The gang members watched in astonishment as their leader hug tackled the smaller girl.

"Oh Kyu it's so good to see you again! I heard the rumor that you came back, but well, when you didn't come to see us I thought…" The blue haired woman said sheepishly.

"Um you're kinda crushing me." Kyu wheezed. The older girl released Kyu.

"It's good to see again too Cecilia. Sorry I didn't come. I'm in the middle of something, and didn't want to drag you into it." Kyu told her. Cecilia smiled and said,

"Come on back to the base, you look dead on your feet. We can talk there." As they began to walk back to the gang's base, Kyu began to cough up blood again. Ninetales picked her up and set her on his back. Cecilia shot concerned glances at Kyu over her shoulder. She regarded herself as Kyu's older sister, and always worried about her. The last time she had seen Kyu was when Ninetales had carried the half dead, then 13 year old, girl onto a boat bound for Europe.

Cecilia had worried every day about Kyu, and she was still worried. The younger girl was coughing up blood again, just like back then. Kyu never spoke about it, but Cecilia knew she was deathly ill.

"You can stop looking at me like that. I'm fine, really it's normal." Kyu said noticing Cecilia's glances. Cecilia nodded embarrassed as they arrived at the gang's base. It was an old college dorm that had been abandoned years ago. Blue Charizard had moved in 5 years ago. The rooms and doors were big enough to allow Ninetales to enter if he crouched.

The group walked down the door lined hall into a room that was twice the size of all the others. This was Cecilia and Thomas's room. The blue walls were covered in anime posters and city maps. Felix and his father plopped down in chairs near the door. Ninetales took up half the room as he lay down with Kyu still on his back. Cecilia and Thomas took seats at the small table in the middle of the room.

"Okay, I'm guessing you're here for a favor involving those two." Cecilia said pointing at Felix and his father. Kyu nodded exhausted and said,

"They're in trouble. I need to get them out of Japan. It has to be quite though."

"What kind of trouble?" Thomas asked.

"Someone is after them." Kyu responded.

"So they're going to need passports, new records, and new IDs." Cecilia finished.

"Can you do it?"

"Yes we can, but that kind of stuff is expensive Kyu." Cecilia told them before Thomas could break in.

"I can pay you. Whatever you want, please just help us…" Felix's dad spoke up. Cecilia looked at him sadly.

"What you have won't be enough. I'd have my guy do it for free if I could, but we have to bribe officials to get the right seals, and stamps to make them look real." She told him. Felix's dad looked heart broken. Angrily Kyu sneered,

"Can't you do anything to help? Your gang is basically Robin Hood, and his merry band of thieves. Stealing from the rich and giving to poor people all the time."

"Don't speak to my sister like that, you murder!" Thomas yelled at Kyu. Kyu coughed up another mouthful of blood, and remorseful said,

"You're right. I'm sorry; it's just been a long day…"

"It's unlike you to apologize. You must be serious. Is this just a mission, or is it personal?" Cecilia asked Kyu.

"It's very personal." Kyu said darkly.

"Okay I'll call in a few favors, but you owe me big Kyu." Cecilia told them.


	23. Chapter 23

Kyu smiled at Cecilia's offer and said,

"You got it." Felix and his father were also smiling. Soon they could escape Japan, and try to start over. Cecilia looked at the wiped out group, and said,

"Why don't you rest for a while, the passports are going to take some time. I'll get Nash to show you to a place to sleep." _Nash? Wasn't he Thomas's friend from when he was little?_ Kyu thought groggily. Cecilia pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number.

"Yeah…I need you to take some guests to some rooms…No the good kind of guests…Thanks" Cecilia said to the person on the phone. A few minutes later Nash appeared at the door. He was about Kyu's height, with ear length black hair. The dark streak of blue in his hair matched his eyes.

"You called your queenliness?" He asked bowing to Cecilia. She made a small smile at his greeting. Nash was always making jokes, and saying funny things. He then noticed the huge pokemon in the room and asked,

"Geez did you give that thing steroids?" Ninetales huffed angrily at the boy, and swatted Nash with one of his tails.

"You are one to insult me, child." Ninetales said.

"Holy shit it talks! Hey wait a second…What do you mean by that?" Nash was a thick muscular boy with broad shoulders, and he was sensitive about his size.

"It should be obvious. If you cannot see it perhaps you are blind as well." The pokemon laughed.

"You're just some dumb over grown pokemon. What would you know?" Nash retorted. Ninetales and Nash glared at each other until Cecilia said,

"Knock it off you two. Nash you should be more respectful to our honored guests, and Ninetales you are over three centuries old. It is beneath you to argue with a human child." The two looked away grumbling. Kyu smiled. It wasn't often Ninetales argued with someone. She thought he rather enjoyed it, like an old human man enjoys a heated argument with his neighbor. Nash motioned for them to follow him. With many complaints from their tired joints, Kyu's group trailed after him down the hall.

He led Felix and his dad to a regular sized dorm room down the hall. The two entered gratefully and closed the door. Ninetales and Kyu followed Nash further down the hall in an awkward silence. Trying to lighten the mood Kyu asked Nash,

"How many members do you guys have living here?"

"Not that it's your business, but about 40." He told her. Finally Nash stopped at another empty dorm room, and gestured them to go in, but Kyu shook her head.

"Ninetales won't fit in there." She told him.

"Yes it will, just put it in its pokeball." Nash explained testily. Kyu looked at Nash like he was slow.

"Ninetales doesn't have a pokeball. He's my partner, not my pet or servant. We're equals." Kyu told him. Nash stared at the girl. He had heard about people like this. Ones who didn't confine pokemon to pokeballs. He looked thoughtful for a moment then said,

"Okay I think I know a room big enough." They followed the boy down the hallways, and Kyu began to tire even more. The large pokemon picked her up and set her on his back again. Nash noticed this, and began to warm up to the younger girl and her huge pokemon. He showed them to what used to be the laundry room, but was now bare of any washing machines or dryers. The space was even bigger than Cecilia's room.

Ninetales lay down on the tiled floor, and Kyu slid down to wrap herself in the pokemon's tails.

"Thank you." Kyu said sleepily. Nash nodded and turned to go, but remembered he had never gotten the girl's name.

"Oh yeah I forgot to ask. What's your name kid?" Kyu rolled over trying to get comfortable and said,

"I guess I can't expect you to remember. I only saw you once before, but I don't think you noticed me. I'm Kyu. Nice to…meet…you." Kyu fell asleep as soon as she finished speaking, and Nash stood aghast. She was Tokyo's number one contract killer, and he had insulted her pokemon, not to mention called her _kid_!

As the night wore on no one saw the blue light that slipped through the cracks of the laundry room door. Sometime after that when even watchful Ninetales had succumbed to slumber, a huge explosion shook the old dorm. In an instant Kyu, and Ninetales were up and out the door. The hall way was crowded with confused half asleep gang members. Kyu rode on Ninetales and the crowd quickly parted so they wouldn't be trampled. They made their way to Cecilia's room, as more explosions rocked the building.

"What's happened?" Kyu yelled to Thomas over the noise. He shook his head.

"Where's Cecilia?" She asked.

"She ran towards the blast!" He shouted back. Kyu took of down the hallway again, Ninetales low to the floor. Kyu was certain that whoever it was attacking the base had come for her and Felix._ I won't let Cecilia get involved. I don't want her to get hurt especially if they're after me._ She thought. They soon came to the huge hole that had been smashed into the wall. The air was full of dust, and broken bricks covered the ground. Jumping out into the cool night air Kyu and Ninetales could see who it was.

Victoria stood opposite Cecilia grinning. Her Seviper was curled up at her side its huge tongue flickering in and out. Cecilia was facing off against the woman who had blown a hole in her base.

"You scum how dare you! Go Charmander!" Cecilia said releasing the small orange pokemon from a pokeball. Victoria smiled broadly.

"Do you honestly think that puny pokemon can challenge my lovely Seviper. Just give me Kyu and the little boy, and I won't kill you." She sneered.

"And if I refuse?" Cecilia asked standing her ground. Victoria pulled a large dagger, launched herself at the gang leader and yelled,

"Seviper use iron tail!" The snake pokemon flew at Charmander his tail turning into solid iron. But Cecilia was ready for both. Without missing a beat she grabbed a metal pipe from the wall, and blocked Victoria's strike while commanding,

"Charmander counter!" The little pokemon met the Seviper with his own iron tail. The attacks canceled each other out, and both parties jumped apart. Victoria was shocked that the tiny fire pokemon had blocked her pokemon's attack with one of equal strength. Cecilia swung her pipe at Victoria missing her by an inch, and shouted,

"Charmander use fire blast!" The little orange pokemon shot a huge blast of flames at the Seviper. The snake pokemon managed to avoid most of it, but was still burned by the huge fireball. The Blue Charizard had gathered to watch their leader duke it out. Cecilia swung the pipe knocking the dagger from Victoria's hands. They cheered loudly for her. Kyu was the only one who expressed concern.

"Cecilia! It's my fault she's here I'll take care of it!" She yelled, and tried to enter the battle.

"No! You've done enough fighting, and she wrecked my home! I will end her!" Cecilia yelled viciously. Victoria took this moment to expertly yank the pipe from Cecilia's hands, and release her secret weapon. She pulled a silver canister from her belt and put on a gas mask while returning her pokemon to its ball. The canister pushed out a large cloud of white smoke in a pressurized burst.

The people and pokemon in the area choked, coughed, and began to fall to the ground. The white cloud lingered for a moment, and Victoria took a moment to admire her handiwork. Now all she had to do was carry the two Gifted to the boat. Suddenly a well-placed roundhouse kick to the jaw sent her flying. When the smoke cleared, Kyu and Ninetales were still standing. Victoria was in shock.

"How are you still conscious?" She asked her voice strange sounding from the mask.

"You'd be surprised how often they used to gas me to make me manageable. I built up an immunity to that stuff when I was 8." Kyu said smiling at Victoria's bafflement.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey guys! Here's an extra chapter. I was in a super writing frenzy, and I think it would be a good way to thank you for all the support! - Pogokitten**

At the same time Kyu was facing off against Victoria again, Maggie was wondering what to do about her investigation. The trail had gone cold. The bodies were those of hired mercenaries who had no valid connection to Kyu, and the DNA, and finger prints led nowhere. It was as if the girl didn't exist at all. Thing that might have led to her was the family from apartment 305, but even the father was missing now. Maggie sat at the kitchen table drumming her fingers trying to come up with motives or connections, but not having any luck.

So she did what she had begun doing since she met Liz. Calling the girl, and letting her cheerful babblings numb her racing mind. Liz picked up on the second ring and asked,

"Yeeeeees?" Feeling better already Maggie said,

"Hey it's me."

"Oh, hi again Maggie. You really should try to find a way to relax besides calling me, but I guess I'm just that amazing."

"Well you're cheaper than therapy." The two laughed a bit before continuing.

"But seriously you should try to take your mind off work when you get home. Watch anime, play video games, take a walk."

"I know I just can't stand hitting dead ends, and knowing Kyu is still out there killing people." Maggie explained frustrated.

"You know she hasn't really killed anybody that people would miss all that much."

"It doesn't matter! No one has the right to take the life of another!" Both girls were silent for a moment.

"You really wanna know that bad?"

"Yes I want to know who she is. Why she kills people, and how to stop her."

"Okay then listen. I've heard of this woman. People say she can see the future." Maggie burst out laughing. Psychics were a dime a dozen in Tokyo, and in most peoples opinions they were all crack pots.

"No this one is for real. She predicted who would win this year's pokemon league when she was five! Besides what have you got to lose?" _My dignity_. Maggie thought.

But an hour later she found herself in front of **Madam Cookie's Futures**. The shop was hidden between two tall buildings. It was small and its front window was filled with crystal balls. Maggie entered the little purple building, and was hit by the smell of incense burning. Beads and chains covered the walls, and the constellations were painted on the ceiling.

A young girl sat behind a desk reading a book. When she saw Maggie she looked up and said,

"Madam Cookie has been expecting you." _Of course she has_ Maggie thought sarcastically. Maggie made to sit down at a table with a crystal ball on it in the corner, but he girl said,

"Um no that is for the normal customers. Madam will see you in the prophecy room." She pointed to a door behind a curtain. Confused Maggie went into the room. It was pitch black; the only light came from a blue flame in the middle of the floor. An old woman was seated in front of it. Her hands were thin and wrinkled. The old woman's hair was white, and covered with a colorful shawl.

She motioned for Maggie to sit. When she did she realized horrified, that the woman _had no eyes!_ Madam Cookie smiled gently and spoke,

"Do not be afraid my child." Maggie was instantly guilty for her reaction. As if reading her mind Madam Cookie said,

"Do not be ashamed you are not the first, nor will you be the last to react that way."

"I need to know some things ma'am." Maggie told her. The old woman chuckled.

"Don't we all? But yes you seek answers. I received a prophecy many years ago about the world as it is now. I will give them to you seeing as you play a large rule in the fate of the gods." _The gods?_

"Now listen well child. I cannot see everything with clarity so you must find the prophecy's meaning yourself." Maggie nodded, and suddenly in the eerie blue light she began to believe it was true that Madam Cookie could see the distant future. The woman closed her eyes, and Maggie noticed there was green Espeon on her lap. The room chilled rapidly, and the Espeon's jewel glowed brightly. Madam Cookie started her prophecy,

"You seek one who lingers in this world on borrowed time. Their past is troubling, but they play a rule in this world's fate…A tall dark stranger will lead you from your goal to take it as their own…Many children are involved in the struggle for it too...The beast smiles as they rip each other apart…Someone must make a decision that impacts this earth, and your actions determine their choice."

Maggie left Madam Cookie's place fifteen minutes later, having decided that the woman was an old crack pot after all.


	25. Chapter 25

Victoria quickly regained her composure, and sent out her Seviper and Milotic. The two snake pokemon hissed, and slithered over the asphalt. Kyu took a fighting stance, and pulled out her twin pistols. Wielding Cecilia's pipe Victoria charged and shouted,

"Milotic hydro pump! Seviper poison tail!" Milotic launched a jet of water at Ninetales, while Seviper approached from behind, its tail dripping with venom. Kyu fired two shots at the other girl, but Victoria dodged and weaved to avoid them. Ninetales jumped over the water jet, only to be hit by the other pokemon's poison tail attack. The wound was luckily shallow. Victoria struck at Kyu with the pipe, which Kyu deflected off her pistols.

Kyu wanted to end the fight quickly, before the unconscious members of the Blue Charizard were hit by attacks or trampled. She brought her knee up to hit Victoria's chin, but the other girl back flipped away.

"Attack plan B!" Victoria commanded her pokemon. Moving in unison the two snakes circled Ninetales and began to rise up, like Arbok preparing to strike. Ninetales unleashed a devastating fire spin. It seared Seviper, but Milotic countered with a powerful whirlpool. Ninetales turned and attacked the injured pokemon with a bone crushing crunch. The Seviper hissed in pain. Victoria threw the pipe at Kyu hitting her with a glancing blow. The black haired woman used the distraction to retrieve her dagger.

Kyu fired another round at Victoria this time nicking her wrist. She shrieked with pain, but surprised Kyu by immediately throwing her dagger. Had Kyu been any slower the dagger would have struck her heart. She dodged to the left, but still could not avoid it entirely. And it cut Kyu's bicep as it flew passed. Meanwhile Ninetales had managed to weaken Seviper severely. One more hit would be it for Seviper, but he was having trouble getting at the other pokemon.

Milotic would just counter his fire attacks with water or twist out of his reach. Both Victoria's pokemon were powerful. But had it been one on one Ninetales would have won by now. Ninetales used quick attack on the poison pokemon sending it flying. Seviper hit the ground hard and did not move again. Ninetales was now down to half his health, and Kyu knew it.

Victoria charged Kyu whipping her wrist at the smaller girl. The blood from Victoria's wrist hit Kyu's eyes blinding her. Unfortunately for Victoria, Kyu could fight almost as good without her eyes. She could hear Victoria's location, and could sense her punches and kicks before they landed. After blocking several blows, Kyu smacked Victoria across the face with her gun. Victoria shrieked again, and backed up to recover. Quickly Kyu wiped the blood from her eyes and yelled,

"Ninetales! Let's end it!" The fox pokemon nodded and jumped to her side. As Kyu closed her bright green eyes, the air became heavier. Victoria watched in astonishment as Ninetales began to glow with a bright green aura that matched Kyu's irises. Kyu opened her eyes to revel that the irises had started glowing like Ninetales. She jumped on the Ninetales's back and shouted,

"Okay let's show them what we can really do!" Victoria's confident sneer was marred by the welt on her cheek.

"You think some stupid glowing is enough to defeat me?" She boasted. Milotic shot another hydro pump at Ninetales, but suddenly Ninetales vanished. Then Milotic was rammed by the fire pokemon, and sailed through the air. Victoria was in shock, Ninetales could not learn extreme speed! What was going on? Milotic got up spitting angrily.

"Use surf!" A huge wave of water rushed at Ninetales, but he jumped high into the air to avoid it. Ninetales landed on the water pokemon and used crunch. The water pokemon moaned with agony, and fainted. Victoria screamed with furry,

"My pokemon! You bitch! You've killed them!"

"No I haven't. I try not to kill pokemon, because they don't always get to choose their masters, but all humans make their own choices." Kyu said to her. This woman had killed so many innocent people, and dragged who knew how many Gifteds off to a place worse than Hell. Glaring murderously at Victoria, Kyu whispered,

"Ninetales, use hyper beam." The pokemon began gathering energy in its mouth, and shot a beam of bright white light at Victoria. The bright light illuminated the street before it blasted Victoria on her right side. She stood suspended for a moment, her right arm gone along with part of her torso. She fell with a thud, struggling for breath in a pool of blood. Kyu dismounted Ninetales and stood over the dying girl. Victoria's lips flapped as she struggled for words.

"They…will…come…for…you…" She gasped. With one final shuttering breath Victoria left the world. Kyu knelt down and closed the woman's eyes. She no longer looked beautiful in death.

"They've always been coming for me." Kyu told the dead girl. Kyu crushed Victoria's pokeballs to release them of their trainer. Feeling faint Kyu sat down by Cecilia's sleeping form. Kyu's powers exhausted her whenever she used them, and Ninetales was weak, and tired. They lay down together on the ground, and when the members of the Blue Charizard woke up an hour later they found the two sound asleep.

Kyu and Ninetales woke up early the next morning. Cecilia was waiting for them in her room. She told them that everyone had woken up unharmed and that they had burned Victoria's body.

"Anyway, the passports are ready, and the Europe bound ship leaves in a half hour." Cecilia finished. She was upset that Kyu had needed to finish her battle. She was supposed to be the older sister figure in Kyu's life, but she felt like she could never protect the girl. Kyu went to go get Felix and his father. Something was bothering her though. As they were walking back to Cecilia's room Kyu said,

"I wonder how Victoria found us here." She noticed Felix's dad looking uncomfortable.

"Felix you wouldn't happen to know would you?" The little boy glanced at his father then looked back at the girl who had saved him, and nodded.

"Dad called my aunt last night on his cell phone." Felix said bashfully.

"Didn't I warn you not to tell anybody where we were?!" Kyu asked the man accusingly.

"I had to tell somebody so my wife would know we were okay when she was found!" Felix's father defend himself.

"Victoria was probably tracking your phone calls and traced you here! If you pull something like that again in Europe I won't be there to save either of you! Other people could have died!" Kyu's words were met by silence. Sometime later Ninetales, Cecilia, Thomas, and Kyu bid farewell to Felix and his father on the dock in. Wingulls wheeled overhead as the sun broke over the horizon.

"Bye Kyu, I hope I see you again and thank you for saving me." Felix said as he hugged her. Kyu smiled and hugged the boy back.

"Don't forget what I told you about surviving, okay?" Kyu said. The little boy nodded. They waved as Felix, and his dad got on the old fishing boat bound for Europe to restock. As the boat disappeared in the distance Kyu hoped with all her soul that Felix would be safe.


	26. Chapter 26

Austin's shoes slapped the wet sidewalk as he chased a woman down the crowded streets of Tokyo. Umbreon raced alongside him. The woman was an ex-lab assistant for the Japanese branch of Vexa. By going through classified police files, Austin had found that all the people Kyu had assassinated three years ago were in some way related to the multinational research company. He had approached the woman Mei Ito, only to have her run as soon as she spotted him.

She was pretty fast for being over thirty. He followed her for several blocks before she darted into a small side street. Austin and Umbreon sprinted down the road, and found the woman panting heavily. She noticed him and exclaimed,

"Stay back! You're the hit man aren't you! Just because I wouldn't give the CIA any information they sent you to kill me!" Before Austin could even say 'wait' Mei reached into her pocket and pulled out a timerball.

"Go Cradily!" She shouted as the green fossil pokemon flew from the ball. She was scared beyond reason. Austin knew he had no choice but to battle.

"Here we go Umbreon!" The little black pokemon jumped in front of his trainer.

"Cradily use rock throw!" Mei demanded. Using its roots the grass pokemon ripped pieces of the street up, and threw them at Umbreon. The small black pokemon was fast though, and dodged the huge chunks of concrete.

"Use dark pulse!" Austin yelled. Umbreon let loose a wave of dark energy which hit Cradily head on. It relied back, and Austin said,

"Quick use psychic!" Umbreon's yellow rings glowed faintly as Cradily was slammed by an invisible force. The pokemon teetered confused. Mei looked aghast. Her pokemon was losing so easily.

"Hurry do something!" She yelled panicked. The pokemon heard her and used a feeble energy ball which Umbreon sidestepped. Austin was ready to finish it.

"Umbreon use dark impact!" This was a move Austin and Umbreon had made up. It worked by using dark pulse and giga impact together. Umbreon charged Cradily, his body surrounded by a dark pulse. He rammed Cradily in an explosion of black. The much larger pokemon was sent flying, and landed hard cracking the pavement. Mei stared dejectedly at her pokemon.

"I'm not here to kill you I just want to ask you some things." Austin said. The woman looked him over, then pulled out a pair of purple glasses and put them on. Seeing him clearly now she remarked,

"I see now you are not American. Italian I presume?" Austin nodded impressed she knew where he came from by one look. Mei returned her beaten pokemon to its ball.

"You must excuse me for my mistake. I suppose you want information about Vexa?" She asked him. Austin nodded. Mei looked around and whispered,

"Then I suggest we get away from any listening ears." Mei led Austin to her small apartment a few blocks away. It was unorganized, and dirty. Everything was in the process of being packed into boxes. _She must be moving_ Austin thought. She sat down at a small table and motioned for Austin to do the same. The chair squeaked as if threating to break as he sat across from Mei.

"Now before I tell you anything I must know if your agency can protect me. Others have come asking as well, but I've always been able to drive them off." She said seriously. Austin would have to make a call later, but he knew if the information was to get to Kyu his employers would do just about anything.

"I work for Italy's AISE, and we would be more than willing if your info is helpful." Austin stated. Mei nodded and asked him,

"What is it you want to know about? Vexa has many secrets."

"Vexa's super soldier program." Austin said leaning forward.

"Ah yes. Many people wish to know those secrets in particular. I assume you specifically mean test subject 1009." Austin was confused now. There were over one thousand test subjects?

"I don't know. We don't know what number she would have been."

"I think she calls herself Kyu now. Is that the one you want to know about?"

"Yes her. What do you know about her?"

"Unfortunately I was not assigned to that area of research, so I don't know as much as others. I don't really know what they wanted soldiers for in the first place. I worked on studying shadow crystals mostly, but I will tell you all I remember." Austin hopped it would be relevant if she didn't work on the project. Mei took a deep breath and began to tell all she knew.

"Vexa is a huge company with its researchers working on many project most would call unethical. They would hide these types of experiments from everyone, including governments. The only ones who did know were the researchers, investors who funded the projects, and the test subjects. Everything from cloning to genetic tampering. One of its biggest areas of experiment was on people born with the power to strengthen pokemon in some way."

"Strengthen how?" Austin broke in.

"By level, speed, attack power, so on. Even teaching pokemon moves they could never learn. Anyway, one of the most famous test subjects in Vexa's history was 1009. She had the ability to raise a pokemon's level by 10 and all its stats. She was a gold mine to them. I never saw her myself, but I would hear the rumors. She was just a little girl when they first took her. 5 years old I think. I recall her real name being Kayla Edel, but I don't know much of anything else. Just that when a pokemon burned down the lab, she was thought to have been dead." Mei finished.

Austin absorbed this new information in silence. He thanked Mei and told her that she had helped, and they would protect her. After all, a name is more than enough.


	27. Chapter 27

Several days had passed since Felix and his father had left for Europe, and Kyu was hard at work trying to find information on Vexa and their current projects. Her goal was to put an end to all their experiments, current and future. But the company was exceedingly cautious, and Kyu could not find any clues to anything without risking discovery. After another long day of grilling information brokers and asking old associates, she returned to the loft and plopped on the blanket next to Ninetales.

The pokemon turned his large golden head towards her and asked,

"Have you uncovered anything?" Kyu shook her head miserably. Ninetales was silent for some time as he watched the Shuppet play tag. They squealed like children as they raced around the dusty rafters.

"I don't know what to do Ninetales. I can't do much without being found out by the police or other people, and most of my old criminal co-workers who would know things want to kill me now." Kyu said frustrated. Again Ninetales was silent. Kyu got ready for bed, and had just laid down next to Ninetales when he licked her check and told her,

"Perhaps you should try to forget about your mission for some time." Kyu stared at him flabbergasted. Taking out the company that had ruined their lives had become Kyu's new life. The large pokemon chortled at the look on her face and clarified,

"I meant maybe you should allow the answers to present themselves instead of seeking them. I have found in my many years that what you yearn for comes to you when you least expect it." Kyu pondered Ninetales words as she drifted to sleep. Maybe he was right, she could take a break for little while. The next day Kyu woke up, and told Ninetales that she was headed to the police office. Now it was Ninetales's turn to look flabbergasted.

"Are you insane? Why in the name of Entei would you do such a thing?" He demanded.

"I'm going undercover. I met a girl who works there and she invited me to visit. I can't pass up an offer to spy on the enemy, and you said to take a break from looking for Vexa." Kyu told him. Ninetales was upset. He didn't like Kyu being so wreck less, and saw himself as her father. He grudgingly agreed to allow her to go as long as she came back before dark, or he would come looking for her himself. Leaving her guns at home felt foolish, but she couldn't very well explain why she had them if someone found them on her.

After dressing up as Kyoko Hayashi once more, Kyu made her way out of the loft, and caught the midmorning train to the Central West Police station. The streets were as crowded as usual, and the late summer sun beat down on the citizens of Tokyo. The police station was a 5 floor gray building. As she approached she could see all manner of people and pokemon rushing in and out of its double doors. Unsure of how to find Liz in such a big place, Kyu lingered a few yard away from the entrance.

Suddenly someone flew out the door and ran smack into her. Kyu tumbled to the ground, as the person who ran into her said,

"Oh my Arceus, I didn't even see you-Kyoko!" Kyu looked up to see Liz standing over her. The red haired girl pulled Kyu up and said,

"We really need to stop meeting like this." Kyu giggled innocently and said,

"Well I need to stop being lost, and you need to stop rushing around everywhere." Suddenly Liz's eyes widened and she remarked,

"Oh yeah I need to get this antidote to Rachel. Would you like to come?" Kyu nodded and they walked to the back of the police station. The area was a large grassy square with trees and bushes.

"Who is Rachel?" Kyu asked as the green haired woman came into view. Liz pointed at her and told Kyu,

"That's Rachel. One of her pokemon got into a scuffle with an Ekans, and got poisoned." As they reached the older woman, Kyu noticed the Mightyena lying on the ground next to her.

"Hey Rachel I brought the antidote." Liz said handing the bottle to her. Rachel took it and sprayed it on her pokemon. The dark pokemon whimpered slightly. Kyu winced as if she could feel its pain as well.

"Thanks Liz. Oh who's that?" Rachel asked noticing Kyu.

"This is my friend Kyoko Hayashi. Kyoko this is Rachel Connors." Rachel took Kyu's hand and shook it, which confused the girl. Though from Germany Kyu had grown used to the Japanese bowing to each other. Rachel was from America though, and found it odd most people bowed. Suddenly feeling better Mightyena realized it smelled something familiar. It got up, and started to sniff the hem of Kyu's dress.

Horror struck Kyu remembered that the police pokemon knew here scent from the crime scenes. Kyu backed away slowly while trying to think of something. Rachel put her hand out in front of her pokemon and said,

"Sorry about that. I didn't know you were afraid of pokemon." Sighing with relief Kyu played along. She nodded shyly and moved behind Liz. Unfortunately Kyu had forgotten about one thing.

"You're afraid of pokemon? But what about when you saw my Eevee at the bay?" Liz asked her quizzically. Thinking fast Kyu lied,

"I'm only afraid of big pokemon." Liz nodded sympathetically. Liz told Rachel goodbye, and led Kyu away from the pokemon handler. As they walked back, Kyu made to go into the police station, but Liz tugged on her arm.

"Come on let's go." The red head said. Glancing at the door Kyu asked,

"Don't you have to work?"

"No I just got off."

"Then where are we going?"

"To hang out with my friends. I told them about you, and they all really wanted to meet you." Liz said enthusiastically. Kyu thought about trying to make an excuse to get away, but didn't. She had never hung out with people before, and kind of wanted to try it out.


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey guys just wanted to say that I didn't really like some of the older chapters, so I might add to or re-write them. -Pogokitten**

Liz took Kyu to a small café a few blocks from the police station in a park. The café was a bit too cutesy for Kyu. The exterior was pink and frilly. The inside wasn't much better either. The tables had lace doilies, and the windows were heart shaped. Liz dragged the unwilling assassin to a table with three other people already seated around it.

"Hey guys I'm here and I brought a friend!" Liz sang. The people at the table turned to meet them. One was a young guy with silver hair, who looked as uncomfortable in the café as Kyu felt. The other two were girls who looked her age. One was as pale as Kyu with soft lavender braided hair, and the other girl was tanned. Her hair was wavy and sea foam green. They all greeted Liz cheerfully.

"Guys this is my new friend Kyoko Hayashi. Kyoko these are my other friends." Liz introduced them. The girl with the green hair took Kyu's hand, and pulled her into the seat next to her.

"Hi, my name's Shannon Yoshida! I'm a pokemon ranger in training, my sign is Cancer, I love the color yellow, I'-" Shannon babbled until the other girl tapped her shoulder and said,

"I think she gets it Shan. Anyway I'm Deanna Watanabe. It's nice to meet you." She bowed her head politely. The boy smiled and told her,

"Hey I'm Chris Carter, but you can just call me Nick." Confused Kyu asked,

"Why Nick?" The group burst into laughter, and catching her confused look Liz said in between giggles,

"It's an inside joke." _Inside joke?_ Kyu thought. As Kyu was trying to figure out what an inside joke was a waitress in a pink maid outfit came to take their orders.

"Welcome to Café Mew Mew. What can I get you to drink?" After the waitress had taken their drink requests and left, the group began to question Kyu about her life.

"So what's your favorite color?" Shannon asked. Kyu had never given much thought to what colors she liked. She thought about it then said,

"Green, but not a bright green. More like forest green."

"What about your favorite pokemon? Mine is Flaaffy." Deanna said. Not having given much thought to this either Kyu hesitated and Liz told the group,

"Kyoko's afraid of most pokemon." The group was shocked and began to chat about how they couldn't live without their pokemon. The conversation turned to other things quickly. Half listening Kyu found out Chris was studying abroad here to become a pokemon professor. Deanna wanted to be a nurse, and Shannon had dreams of becoming the best skiing pokemon ranger ever. It was so odd to be sitting in a café and talking about things that were so trivial. It wasn't a bad feeling though.

"What's your dream Kyoko?" Chris asked her. _Dreams? I don't really have any of those. Well not any that don't involve killing every scientist at Vexa…_Kyu thought to herself. She decided to answer as truthfully as she could.

"I never really thought about it much." Kyu said sheepishly. The others looked at her oddly. It made Kyu uncomfortable when they stared at her like that.

"Oh come on there has to be something." Liz said as their drinks came. Nobody was hungry though so there was nothing to distract them from Kyu's answer. Under pressure Kyu blurted out the first thing that came to mind,

"My dream is to be an artist." The others were interested now.

"What kind of artist? Like a manga artist?" Deanna asked.

"Um…yeah." Kyu said. _I really should work on lying on the spot, but what is it about these people that makes me lower my guard so much? _Kyu asked herself. Liz and her friends remarked on how cool that was. As they talked more and more, Kyu felt herself being drawn into the conversation. She even laughed once when Chris stuck chopsticks up his nose.

Soon though Liz's friends had to leave. Kyu was surprised to find she was sad they were going.

"Bye Kyoko see you soon!" Shannon said as she raced away.

"It was very nice to meet you." Deanna told her put on a sun hat.

"Don't forget us when you're a famous manga illustrator." Chris joked, before hopping on his bike. As they paid the check Liz told Kyu she would walk her to the bus stop. On the way there Kyu began to feel an emptiness in her chest she couldn't place.

"So do you have any family in the city Kyoko?" Liz asked her as they walked. As a summer breeze tickled her skin Kyu said,

"No they…I mean I don't really have any family." Liz turned to her. The girls red hair seemed to be made of fire in the late afternoon sun.

"You don't have any family?" Liz asked sadly. Kyu did not respond for some time. The sun danced on her long brown hair as she said wishfully,

"Well I do have someone who is like a brother to me, but I haven't seen him in years." Liz was silent after that. She hugged Kyu as she said goodbye. It surprised Kyu, as she wasn't hugged often. After the long bus ride to the loft, Kyu could feel the emptiness in her chest again. Ninetales was off hunting after seeing her return, and as the moon rose in the inky sky, Kyu realized what the empty feeling was. It was loneliness.


	29. Chapter 29

**Sorry chapters have been so lackluster lately. I have all kinds of plans for the story, but have no idea where to put any of them. I might start posting every other day to allow more time to think. Also I started co-writing a story with Lilitraum. I told them to post it on their page. Its pokemon, and is pretty much all their idea. Anyway sorry I talk so long, and I wouldn't mind some new thoughts on the story- Pogokitten**

Austin sat squashed between two people at Gate A-20. He had booked a late night flight to Berlin Germany. The boarding area was more crowded than a shopping mall. The man to the right of Austin on the rickety bench was eating a gallon bag of trail mix. He seemed oddly twitchy, and the Italian man suspected he was abusing substances. The other was a huge over weight woman. She was screaming at someone on her cell phone in a language Austin didn't know.

The flight had been delayed, he had been 'groped' by the security, and now Austin figured this was a sign the mission was not going to go well. He had tracked Kyu by her name, and found she had living family in Germany. His disguise this time was that of a cold case investigator. He intended to ask the family about their missing daughter to get information. Sometime after Austin began to envy Umbreon in his privet pokeball, they thankfully started boarding the plane. He found his seat, and put his carryon bag in the compartment, and was settling down for a rest. He had booked an overnight flight so he could sleep, and not become jet lagged.

Suddenly someone kicked the back of his seat hard. He glanced back to see a fat little boy playing a 3DS, rhythmically kicking the back of his seat. He gave the boy the 'stink eye', which had no effect, what so ever on the kid. The flight took off a few minutes later though, and Austin figured he could still get a snooze out of the trip, even with the kicking. But as soon as they reached cursing level, a baby a few rows back from Austin began to scream bloody murder. Austin hated flying, but this was getting ridicules.

The brat continued to scream for several hours straight. Austin began to have a migraine from the kicking, screaming, and general displeasure of flying. Eventually though, he fell into an uneasy sleep and had weird dreams. He dreamed that a giant screaming Pichu was kicking him and squeezing his head at the same time. Then the dream changed to him running down a foggy deserted street. There was a girl in the middle of the road with her back to him. As he drew closer to her, the girl turned and Austin saw she had no face. He woke up in a cold sweat with a flight attendant standing over him.

"Sir, are you alright?" she asked in German. He nodded, embarrassed. Austin had learned many languages for his job, and luckily German was one of them. The attendant told him they would be landing soon, and Austin was the first one off the flying jail. In Berlin it was late evening. The airport was huge, and the air was full of different dialects from around the globe.

Austin retrieved his belongings at the baggage claim. It felt good to be on his home continent. He caught a cab to the hotel he was staying in for the night. He had only slept 2 short hours on the plan, and was having trouble keeping his eyes open. Austin had intended to start on planning the mission as soon as he got situated, but he conked out on the bed, still in his clothes and shoes. His sleep was blissfully dreamless.

**By the way this airport chapter is based on what happened to me once on a plane. :3**


	30. Chapter 30

**Okay, I finally figured out how I want the story to end. So no more trudging on only half knowing where I was taking it. Don't worry, it won't be too much longer, and I'm sure the ending will surprise you. –Pogokitten**

Austin and Umbreon were passing through a huge field of rainbow colored flowers, when they spotted Edel Manor. It was a huge white house right out of a fairy tale. It sat atop a rolling green hill, and a huge brick wall surrounded its humongous yard. Feeling carefree in the moment, Umbreon frolicked through the blossoms. Butterfree and Beautifly scattered from the disturbed plants, and rose into the lush blue sky. Austin watched the scene contentedly.

He approached the tall iron gates, and whistled for Umbreon to return to his side. The little pokemon turned sulkily back to his master's side, and Austin rang the gate bell. They gates opened up by themselves, and Austin and his pokemon began to walk up the cobblestone path to the mansion. The lawn was full of statues of Legendary pokemon, fountains, and flower bushes.

Austin had done some research, and found out that Mr. Edel made his fortune from owning a cosmetics company called _Sunflora Sensations Scents_. He also learned that Kyu had gone missing shortly after her fifth birthday. From the sound of the report, the Edels had looked for their daughter, but given up unusually early. Austin and his pokemon reached the door of the mansion. It was white with carvings of flowers, and had a golden Sunflora shaped knocker. The door swung open to reveal an older woman. She was clearly a maid from her uniform and her hair was a dusty brown.

"Hi, I'm here to meet with the owners of the house." Austin said politely in German. The woman held the door open for him and said,

"Yes right this way, we got your call and have been expecting you." The foyer was a large room with a dome ceiling, and twin stair cases that curved up to the second floor landing. A large chandelier hung from the high ceiling and sparkled in the sun light coming through the arched windows. She led Austin across the marble floor, their footsteps echoed through the house. He gawked at all the expensive décor as they walked down a long hallway to a room with a large wooden door.

"Please wait in the sitting room, the master and his wife will be here shortly." The old woman told him. She left, closing the door behind her. The sitting room had white walls and a light brown carpet. A fire place sat on the other side of the room next to a grand piano. Austin took a set on a red love seat. There was a glass and gold coffee table in front of the couch, and another love seat across from him. The walls where covered by book shelves, and light poured in from another arched window.

Umbreon was sniffing some odd gray thing on the piano bench, which raised its head and hissed at the little black pokemon. The Purugly then put its head back down to continue its nap. Umbreon barked at it and backed away. Soon the door was opened by an old butler with a long gray beard. He stepped back to allow two people in. The first was the owner of the house Mr. Edel. He was a tall striking man with styled brown hair, and ice blue eyes. He was dressed in a suit and dress pants. The other was his wife. She had long purple hair that bounced when she walked. She was cloaked in an evening gown that matched her dark green eyes.

They both made their way over to the other love seat, and called for tea. The servants rushed away to bring the refreshments. The man of the house looked at him and asked impatiently,

"What is it you require of us, officer?" His voice was filled with arrogance. Austin immediately disliked the man, but kept his cool.

"Anything you remember about the when your daughter was taken." Austin explained as the maid came back. A Chikorita was carrying a tray of tea for her with its vine whips. Austin took a cup and Mr. Edel said,

"We told you all we knew already. I have no idea what else you think you could learn after more than 10 years."

"Oh its procedure. Every once in a while we review old cases." Austin told the rich man. Mr. Edel grumbled, and Mrs. Edel said,

"The child has most likely been dead for years; there is no point of looking any longer. We've put it behind us." Austin was shocked at her hard tone. He had expected them to be hanging on desperately for any hope for their lost child, but instead they didn't seem to care at all!

"Look officer, we don't know any more than what we've told the police. Our daughter was taken from a clinic where she was being treated, but we never received a ransom note. We have nothing else for you. Now if you will excuse us." Mr. Edel said angrily. The two gracefully exited from the room asking the maid to show him out. As Austin and Umbreon followed the maid back through the mansion, Austin was boiling mad. He had flown all the way to Germany for nothing. As he walked out the door, the maid put something in his hand.

It was a scrap of paper that read 'Meet me in the back garden.' Austin was intrigued now. Did the maid know something? Austin and Umbreon snuck around to the back of the house. It was a small garden enclosed by wooden ivy walls. The plants were so thick; they blocked most of the sunlight. The garden looked old and falling down. In the center stood a statue in the shape of an obelisk. It was covered in vines too. The maid and her pokemon stood in the middle next to the statue. She beckoned him with a frail hand.

"The master and missus don't want the fact that their daughter was taken to get out, so they refuse to acknowledge they had one in the first place." The maid said sadly. She gazed at the odd statue for some time. Austin looked closer, and realized it was a grave marker for the daughter they thought to be dead.

"To be honest they never really took any interest in her in the first place. It was we servants that took care of Kayla when she was here. They care more about business than family." She continued.

"What did they mean when they said she was being treated? That wasn't in the report." Austin asked the elderly woman.

"Those two kept much of the truth of the abduction to themselves so it would not damage their reputation." She said.

"What is the truth?" The spy asked curiously. The old woman picked up her Chikorita and stroked it. Umbreon pawed at Austin as if wanting the same treatment as Chikorita.

"Kayla was a very sick child. They hid that fact from most everyone. It was a terminal disease; we were devastated when we found out. The doctor said she would be dead by 13. Her parents just didn't want the bad press of their child dying so young though, and took her to specialists all around the world. But all they could do was lessen her suffering.

Finally they were told about a clinic in Japan that could extend her life. It went well for a few weeks. Then the doctors told us the next treatment would have to be over night. So they left her in that wretched place…and…and when they went to get her back…she and all the doctors…were gone…" The woman was sobbing now, and Austin awkwardly patted her shoulder. It must have been Vexa masquerading as a clinic. She then shocked Austin by using every swearword he had every learned, and some he hadn't, to curse the two Edels.

"We told the police, but they found nothing of our beloved Kayla. The servants cried for days, but the lady of the house ordered this grave stone put up after only 2 weeks, and told the police they could stop looking, and just like that they swept the matter under the rug." The woman finished in between tears. Chikorita wiped the tears away with its leaf and Austin said,

"Thank you for telling the truth miss…uh, I never got your name."

"It's Patricia." The maid told him. Austin turned to go, but the woman grabbed his arm and whispered,

"I believe she might still be alive. I know she'd be old enough to take care of herself now, but if you do find Kayla, tell her she still has a home here with us."

"I will." Austin lied.


	31. Chapter 31

A week had passed since Kyu had met Liz's friends. In that time she had managed to track down and destroy one of Vexa's smaller labs. It hadn't been too difficult, and she had managed to save around 20 innocent pokemon. The police were baffled by the strange fire that Ninetales had ignited, as it burned hotter than most fire pokemon blazes. The building was nothing more than a pile of ashes now.

As Kyu was dressed as Kyoko walking to the Blue Charizard's HQ, she spotted a Riolu darting through the crowd frantically. The little pokemon looked on the verge of tears, and Kyu could see it was just a baby. Kyu figured the pokemon had gotten separated from its trainer. She changed her direction to meet it, when she noticed a group of children eying the creature mischievously. Picking up her pace she reached the Riolu before the group of kids and said,

"There you are Riolu! I have been looking everywhere for you!" Kyu scooped the confused pokemon up, and the children wandered away sulkily. She carried the baby pokemon away some distance and then put it down again. The little pokemon sniffed her cautiously and barked.

"Did you get lost?" Kyu asked it. Her female tone was foreign to the pokemon, but it understood and nodded.

"I don't suppose you know who your trainer is?" Kyu asked hopefully. But as she expected the pokemon stared at her uncomprehendingly. Sighing Kyu picked the Riolu up again. She began walking down the street with the pokemon on her shoulder and said to it,

"I guess I'll take you to the police and hope your trainer thinks to look there." The pokemon barked happily. It wasn't uncommon for people to walk with their pokemon down the streets of Tokyo, but Kyu hadn't realized how much extra attention it drew. Children loved to see pokemon and trainers were always on the lookout for others to battle. On her way to the closest police station Kyu had to turn down three battle challenges. She doubted the tiny pokemon knew many attacks, or was even strong enough to fight.

Half way to the station she spotted Nash from the Blue Charizard. He was next to a depressed looking boy with dark brown skin. They were talking to each other, and Nash seemed to be trying to reassure the other boy. Deciding she most likely wouldn't be seeing Cecilia today because of her little rescue mission, Kyu was going to tell Nash to say hi for her. As she reached the two Nash noticed her, and exclaimed,

"What the hell? What are you doing here?" The other boy spun around to face her, and Kyu could see he was bulky like Nash with stubbly black hair and eyes.

"Don't act so surprised I have a right to walk through town too." Kyu said dryly. Nash then remembered who he was talking to and nodded meekly. The other boy then noticed the pokemon on her shoulder and shouted,

"That's my Riolu! I thought I would never see him again!" The little pokemon barked excitedly and jumped into his arms.

"You're lucky I found him when I did. You really should be more careful about keeping track of him." Kyu told the guy. He looked about 15 like Nash. The boy blushed and said,

"This is my first pokemon, so I'm new at raising them. Anyway thank you. What's your name? I'm Vince Natori."

"I'd watch yourself around her if I were you, this is Kyu-" Nash had to stop mid-sentence as Kyu elbowed him in the gut. She turned to smile at Vince and said sweetly,

"I'm Kyoko Hayashi; it's nice to meet you." Then she leaned towards the doubled over Nash and whispered,

"Dumbass! Don't use my code name when I'm in disguise!" Nash groaned and nodded. Looking concerned Vince asked,

"Do you uh know her Nash?" The other boy nodded and told him,

"I guess you could say we have mutual friends."

"Well it was fun meeting you, and I'm glad you got Riolu back. But I really should get home now. Someone is expecting me back soon, so tell the boss I said hi okay Nash?" Kyu told the two. She turned to leave, but Vince grabbed her arm. She had to resist the urge to break his limb from instinct.

"Wait please let me treat you to a meal as thank you." The boy said. Not really wanting to go out with someone she barely knew Kyu thought fast.

"I really should get home. I'll get in trouble if I'm late." She said softly. Nash snickered and asked,

"What? That over gown hairball-" Kyu elbowed him again. She bowed politely and started walking away. Then Kyu felt a tug on her dress and looked down to see Riolu. The little pokemon whimpered as if he didn't want her to leave. Kyu sighed,

"Okay. I'll go eat with you, but only on one condition." Vince perked up and asked,

"Sure what?"

"If you can beat me in a foot race."

"You're on, but where should we go?"

"I know a place." Kyu led the two boys to a small park nearby. It was mostly deserted that evening. Only a few people were there walking or training pokemon. In the middle of the park was a dirt path that went from one side to the other, dividing the area in half. The air was buzzing with Beedrill and Combee. Kyu pointed out the path.

"We both start at the same place. Whoever gets to the other end first wins." She said boastfully.

"You're going down." Vince said. Nash just shook his head. This was hardly fair of Kyu. They both took their starting positions. Riolu yipped happily on the sidelines, as if cheering for his trainer.

"Ready? Steady? Go!" Nash yelled. The two racers shot off down the path. Vince was confident he could win. Kyu was running at the same speed as him. He was shocked when Kyu, done warming up her muscles, over took his pace. The next thing he knew she was 15 yards ahead of him. Kicking up dust Vince pushed on harder, but when he looked up again Kyu was even farther ahead.

She reached the other end of the path, beating him by a landslide. Vince came to a stop panting. She was really fast. She must be on the track team or something. Riolu walked over to him and whined.

"That was fun, but I've got to jet! See you!" Kyu shouted as she raced away in the direction of the setting sun. Nash walked over to the still panting Vince and joked,

"I don't think you'll win if you keep chasing that girl. Trust me she's more trouble than she's worth."

"That just makes me want to chase her even more." Vince told him.


	32. Chapter 32

**Oh my gosh! I forgot to write yesterday…Sorry I found my old pokemon stuff that I thought I had lost and well, yeah. :/ -Pogokitten**

For the past week Liz had been leaving work early. It was not that big of a problem, but to Maggie it seemed unprofessional. Every day Liz would leave work an hour sooner than everyone else to meet with her friends. At the station she talked avidly about them, especially her new friend Kyoko. Today though, Liz was really excited because she was going to ask Kyoko to join her and the others for a test of courage. When 4 o'clock came around Maggie was ready to tape Liz's mouth shut.

A few moments later Liz had packed her things up from her desk. She looked like she was about to pop from happiness. As Liz was walking out the office door she spotted Maggie by the coffee maker. The older girl stood stiffly upright as she waited for her drink.

"You know Maggie you should really try to lighten up." Liz teased. Maggie who had been frowning just huffed,

"And you should try to be more mature." Liz stared at Maggie, until the older girl felt uncomfortable. To escape Liz's gaze Maggie turned around to get her coffee cup. Then Liz's face lit up and she grabbed Maggie's hand. Surprised, Maggie spilled her fresh cup of Blue Mountain on the floor.

"I know what will turn that frown upside down! You should come with us for the test of courage too! We're going to a haunted house, and whoever takes a picture of a ghost pokemon first wins!" Liz said bouncing on the balls of her feet. Maggie pulled her hand out of Liz's grasp, and knelt down. Then she started mopping up her spilled coffee. Maggie had gone on many tests of courage as a child and enjoyed them, but she was a police chief now.

"Liz I can't I'm still working." Maggie told her. But Liz was not taking 'no' for an answer. She took Maggie's arm and pulled her up from the floor. She half pulled half pushed Maggie away from the partially cleaned brown puddle. Even though Maggie had the height advantage, Liz was very strong for her age. Eventually Maggie gave up and allowed Liz to take her to her desk to get ready to leave. Maggie only half resisted 10 minutes later when Liz dragged her out of the building and into the busy street.

"Come on Maggie lighten up! When was the last time you took a day off?" Liz giggled. Maggie sighed and just decided to go with it. A few hours and two train rides later, Maggie had relaxed and was actually laughing with Liz. She had not realized how stressed she was from work until she had gotten away from it. They had traveled some way into the country side, and the flora filled air was refreshing like a cool drink after a hot summer day in Tokyo. Liz told her the haunted house was some way up the side of a mountain.

The two friends had just stopped at a tea shop for a snack on the trail when two people appeared over the hill. In the setting sun Maggie could just make out what looked like a girl and a boy. Shielding her eyes from the sun Liz jumped up and waved at the two. The figures came over to Liz and Maggie's bench. One was the girl Kyoko that Maggie had met at the fireworks display. The other was the boy Liz always said was dreamy, Chris.

The girl looked just as shy as Maggie remembered. She hid behind Chris when she saw Maggie sitting on the bench too. For a fraction of a second Maggie thought she saw something terrifying in Kyoko's bright gaze, but it disappeared too quickly for Maggie to be sure.

"I brought Kyoko, but Shannon and Deanna couldn't make it." Chris smiled. Turning to Liz the shy girl asked,

"Liz what are we doing up in the mountains? And why is your police friend with you?" Her voice was so soft and sweet Maggie was certain she had been seeing things. Liz stood then pointed up at the mountain in the distance and said with bravado,

"We, my good fellow, are going to a creepy haunted mansion for a test of courage. And Maggie will be joining us." The girl shook her head and looked down.

"Um no-I I don't think I can…" Kyoko stuttered. She was really cute. Liz bear hugged her and said,

"Don't be scared Kyoko! I promise I'll protect you!" Struggling to breathe in Liz's hug, Kyoko wheezed,

"No…Not scared…Have…go home…soon." Releasing Kyoko from her death grip, Liz pouted at the smaller girl.

"No you don't. I'm not letting you get out of this one. If your guardians try to ground you for staying out so late tell them you were kidnapped, because you are coming with us." Liz told her with an evil grin. _So she has an early curfew. I wouldn't want my daughter out very late if she looked that sickly either_ Maggie thought. Just as she was about to suggest they let her go home, Kyoko sighed and said,

"Okay I'll come. Hopefully I won't get into too much trouble if I'm with a police officer." The group made their way up the hiking path in the setting sun. Its dying red glow made the mountain look like it was on fire. A night chill crept through their thin summer cloths. Maggie shivered. She was beginning to feel a trickle of fear at the thought of ghosts. It was the perfect night for a test of courage. As they went over a small hill, the mansion became visible. In the red light the old rundown building looked like it was submerged in a sea of crimson blood.

The group became silent as they approached the old manor. A few people had already gathered outside. They too had come to join in on the test of courage. They were all waiting for the sun to set before they started. Just then some on shouted,

"Hey Kyoko! Long time no see!" Maggie turned to see who it was. Two boys ran over to them and stopped in front of Kyoko.

"Vince! Nash! What are you two doing here?" She asked them. Vince the darker skinned boy grinned and puffed out his chest.

"We're here for the test of courage tonight too. Don't worry I'll protect you from any scary pokemon." He told her. Maggie noticed his knees where shaking though.

"Kyoko who are these guys?" Chris asked. Vince immediately glared at him and began,

"I'll have you know I'm a good friend of-" Kyoko quickly cut him off by saying,

"They are some guys I know. This is Vince and Nash." Nash pushed Vince out of the way and slide next to Liz.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Nash Rishi; would you be willing to bless my ears with your beautiful name?" He asked taking her hand. Liz giggled and told him,

"I'm Liz Kimiko. These are my friends Maggie Toshiko and Chris Carter." Maggie and Chris both greeted the two boys. As the teenagers talked and laughed, Maggie noticed Kyoko standing away from the group. She walked over to the girl to see her staring at the house. Kyoko did not notice the police chief. She had a hard expression on her face that seemed to transform her. The previously shy quiet girl now looked horrifyingly like a vengeful ghost herself.


	33. Chapter 33

Trying to quell her suspicions about Liz's friend, Maggie rejoined the others as night fell. Vince and Nash were going to join their group for the test of courage now too. As the sunlight disappeared Liz handed everyone a disposable camera. Kyoko had returned to the circle of friends. She had gone back to her seemingly regular self, which unnerved Maggie all the more. She could not get the look on Kyoko's face out of her head.

"Okay it's almost time to go in so here are the rules. Everyone will split up into teams of two. Don't leave your partner for any reason. The first group to have both team members snap a picture of a ghost pokemon wins. You have until midnight to take a picture and get out of the mansion. The prize is a dusk ball and bragging rights." Liz explained to them. Everyone nodded in agreement. They split into groups of two by closing their eyes and walking around. The first person they bumped into would be their partner.

Maggie's paranoia was getting the better of her. She was worried that Kyoko was someone or something dangerous. Maggie wanted to keep an eye on the young girl. She felt bad about it but she kept her eyes open and bumped into Kyoko on purpose. All the people were silent as they waited for the starting signal. Over the whispering wind the bell of a far off church echoed around the mountain. On the 10th toll the small crowd cheered and raced into the old manor.

Nash was over joyed that he had been paired with Liz, while Vince was pouting about being partnered with Chris. The mansion was pitch dark and the floor boards creaked under each step. Dust coated the hard wood floors and the sound of scurrying pokemon could be heard from upstairs. Most of the other people had already gone deep into the four story building, their footsteps sounded distant.

As her eyes adjusted to the dim light Maggie could make out the inside more clearly. The house must have once been a spectacular palace. The peeling wall paper was gold trimmed, and cob webs covered the faded mosaic ceiling. Rusted candle stick holders lined the walls. Now though the mansion was rotting from the inside out. Maggie was not usually scared of horror stories or movies, but as soon as she stepped inside the old mansion, fear began to seep into her.

There was something about the house that was creepy. It was at least 20 degrees colder in the mansion. The place smelled of Dustox balls and mold, but there was an underlying smell Maggie could not name at first. Looking much less excited than before Liz spoke up,

"Um so I guess we should split up now…We'll go this way." She and Nash took a hall way that stretched far off into the darkness. Vince and Chris reluctantly started down the opposite hall. Maggie stood uncomfortably next to Kyoko. The girl seemed oddly unfazed by the haunted aura of the house and started up the ancient staircase. Maggie hurried after her not wanting to be alone. On the second floor the two began to walk down a carpet lined passage.

The only light came from the occasional hole in the roof that allowed the moonlight in. Kyoko was in the lead with Maggie trailing behind her_. I am never doing anything like this with Liz ever again_ Maggie thought. Suddenly Kyoko stopped and Maggie walked right into her.

"Why did you stop? Is something there?" Maggie asked.

"Blood." Kyoko whispered. The hairs on the back of Maggie's neck stood on end and her heart began to pound.

"Wh-What?" She asked again.

"That smell when we came in. I figured it out; it's the scent of blood." Kyoko said without turning around. With a horrible realization Maggie knew she was right. The house smelled like fresh blood. Slowly Kyoko began to turn and face the older girl.

"And I know where it's coming from…me" She said. When she faced Maggie the older girl saw a trickle of something dark from the side of Kyoko's mouth. Maggie screamed shrilly and shot off down the hall in the way they had come. Kyoko was a ghost who had come to haunt them! As Maggie hurtled down the hall, Kyoko burst out laughing. She wiped the berry juice from her mouth as she giggled uncontrollably.

When Maggie stopped to take a breath she noticed she had no idea where she was. It was a large room with huge windows. It might have once been a ball room, but now it was empty except for some broken glass. As her heart rate slowed, it dawned on Maggie that Kyoko might have just been playing a prank. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she was. Feeling very embarrassed and angry with herself, she began to try and retrace her steps and give Kyoko a piece of her mind.

**Kyu's point of view.**

Kyu sat down in the passage way to wait for Maggie to return. She had been more bored than scared in the mansion, and the idea of scaring someone had come to her when she saw the Bulk Berry bush by the entrance. While she sat on the worn carpet trying not to sneeze from the dust, she heard voices talking. Kyu figured they were the voices of the other people who had come into the mansion. Kyu was getting tired of waiting for Maggie to return so she decided to go join in the conversation.

Kyu got up from the floor and followed the voices down the hall. She opened a door into a dark room where the noise was coming from. Kyu stepped into the room looking around. Whoever it was had stopped talking now, and the silence was unnerving.

"Hello? Someone in here?" Kyu called. Suddenly the door slammed shut with a blast of wind, plunging her into total darkness. Shit. Then the voices started again. _Why do you linger here?_ _Why do you walk among the living? Why?_ The whispers seemed to sneak their way into her skull and cold chills raced down Kyu's spine.

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" Kyu asked holding her aching head. _Do not lie. We know. You should be on the other side. Yes the other side. You walk on the wrong side._ It sounded like there were multiple people talking. Trying to think clearly, Kyu tugged at the door knob. It wouldn't budge. Suddenly the room was illuminated by an eerie purple light. The source was a fat little white candle. Kyu quickly identified it as a Litwick. Slowly other purple flames glowed to life. She counted at least 3 Litwick in all. From the ceiling a Chandelure and a Lampent gazed down at her.

This was not good. Litwick and its evolutions enjoyed absorbing the life force of living beings. They were some of the most dangerous ghost pokemon there were. It was especially bad for Kyu, and her already weak life force. She could feel them draining her of energy. _You don't belong here. Your life energy is not your own. Did you steal it? Or barrow it? You should be dead. Come with us. Yes come._ Their voices caused her head to pound in agony.

"Get out of my head!" Kyu yelled at them. She stumbled. Kyu knew she was doomed. The ghost pokemon sensed her wavering will to survive and began to advance. Their aura weighed down her body, and she fell to a kneeling position. _Give up. Yes do. There is no hope. You can see that. Give in. Your time is long overdue. Your hate filled soul will be delicious. _ They whispered gathering around her. Kyu resisted them as best she could, but she was fighting a losing battle.

The ghosts had drawn so close she could feel the heat of their purple flames. The room was spinning. Suddenly the door was kicked in, and a bright light shown around the room. The ghost pokemon backed away from the hated light, hissing. Kyu collapsed from relief.

"Kyoko! Are you alright?" Someone shouted. Kyu looked up and made out the blurred shape of Maggie. The police officer threw Kyu over her shoulder and raced out of the room. The ghost pokemon did not follow after their prey, but hissed softly and waited for another creature to fall into their trap. Maggie laid Kyu down outside the mansion. She was panting hard from sprinting while carrying the surprisingly heavy girl.

Kyu was too exhausted to even say thank you. Maggie propped her up and looked her all over. Kyu was even paler than usual. Maggie was afraid the girl was dead. She had heard Kyu's shout and raced down to the scene. Having gotten some strength back Kyu puffed,

"Thanks…thought…I was…gonna die." Maggie let out a relived sigh. If she was talking still, then the ghost pokemon hadn't stolen her soul. Having forgotten how mad she was at the younger girl earlier Maggie hugged the surprised Kyu and said,

"Please don't ever make me have to do that again. What would I tell Liz if one of our friends died on my watch?" When the others exited the mansion some time later, and heard what happened they all began scolding her for being so reckless. Liz was practically crying that it was her fault for making Kyu come along. Vince would not let go of her hand. She found his warmth strangely reassuring and was grateful he was there. It was the oddest thing Kyu had ever experienced so far. Never had any humans shown this much concern for her.


	34. Chapter 34

**Hey going on another trip. I won't be able to post for a few days again. I'll try and write a new chapter tomorrow too before I go. Thanks for the continued support. –Pogokitten**

Rob was dusting his gun stock when he heard a voice outside his door. Scrambling up he raced up the stairs as quietly as he could. It sounded like a man's voice. Pressing his ear to the metal door Rob made out what the familiar voice was shouting.

"Hello? Rob? Are you here? I need to talk to you!" It yelled.

"What the hell is he doing here? His shouting is going to bring everything in a mile radius to my hideout." Rob muttered. After judging the man's position from his voice, Rob threw open the thick door and in one swift movement pulled the man down the steps. Rob pushed him into a chair and leveled a shotgun at his head. The man was tall and lanky with black hair and warm brown eyes. He looked about 25.

When he saw the gun pointed at his face he paled. Rob looked him straight in the eyes and told him,

"If you don't prove that you're the real Alex in the next 20 seconds I'll blow your brains out." The man looked nervous, but stayed composed.

"Last time I saw you, you told me about the time Kayla threatened to turn you in unless you ate a Poptart to sexy music, so you-" Alex started until Rob cut him off,

"Okay! It's you! Just don't say another word." Rob put his gun back and sighed. He was tired of all these faces from the past showing up on his doorstep. Alex relaxed a bit now that the gun was out of his face. Looking him up and down Rob noticed that the older man was wearing an expensive suit. He looked like he was doing much better than the last time he had been to Tokyo.

"Business is booming I take it?" Rob asked. Alex nodded and told him,

"I moved back to Germany to start my own gardening supplies company."

"So why were you at my door screaming like an idiot? I had half a mind to put a bullet in your head before I even talked to you for that." Rob asked warily. Looking sheepish Alex explained,

"Sorry about that, but I needed to talk to you. I'm sure you're wondering why I came back to Japan. I came because I felt guilty. I feel awful that I abandoned Kayla in Norway all those years ago. I went back last year to look for her, but I couldn't find even a hint about where she was. A week ago I heard a rumor that she had returned to Tokyo. I need to find her Rob. Have you seen her?"

Rob was silent for some time. He had wanted to stay out of trouble, but Alex had kept the police off his tail, and he owed him.

"Yeah she came back to Tokyo about a month ago. I haven't seen her since she stopped by to get her guns fixed though." Rob told him grudgingly. Alex looked chest fallen. Rob thought Alex was upset because the info wasn't very helpful, but the older man surprised him.

"Her guns? So Kayla's still using them for murder. I guess I can't expect her to have changed while I was away…" Alex said hanging his head.

"Well Alex, that's what they made her for, killing." Rob said darkly. Both men were silent then Rob said,

"If you wanna find her that bad I heard from a buyer she's been visiting Cecilia and her gang a lot. I'd go look for her there." Rob told him. Alex thanked him and got up to leave. As he was heading up the stairs Rob spoke up,

"Why do you call her Kayla, when she calls herself Kyu? I mean I know you guys have history, but why Kayla? Is it a nick name?" Alex's footsteps halted half way up the stone staircase.

"I can call my self-adopted sister by her real name, can't I?" He said before he opened the metal door and left Rob dumbfounded. Kyu wasn't her name?!

**Kyu's point of view**

It had been about a week since the haunted house fiasco, and Kyu had only just recovered. When she had practically crawled back to the loft well past 3 am, Ninetales had been livid. He had threatened to burn the loft down, and scared all but one Shuppet away in his rage. He had then forced Kyu to stay in bed for days until she was better. During that time the Shuppet had taken a liking to Kyu and would not leave her side. They would play catch or draw pictures with left over art supplies.

Ninetales had tried to tell it to leave and even to scare it away, but to no avail. Kyu had warmed up to the idea of have the little ghost around. She convinced Ninetales it would be a good idea, because Shuppet could be carried around in a pokeball to be with her in town when he couldn't. Today she was going out as Kyoko to buy a pokeball for the little pokemon. Shuppet hovered by her shoulder as they rode the bus into town.

The Shuppet was young, but was brave and had plenty of spirit. It would make a good partner. It was midmorning by the time Kyu reached a pokemart. The store was big and was full of trainers. They were talking, trading, and even battling. Shuppet zoomed around Kyu's head excitedly. She plucked the ghost pokemon out of the air and carried it with her to the counter.

She purchased a regular pokeball, and held it in her hand. It was light and smooth. She didn't like to imprison pokemon, but it would attract too much attention if Shuppet followed her everywhere. She had never used a pokeball before, but she knew the concept.

Kyu held the unfamiliar ball out to Shuppet, and with a happy cry the pokemon pushed the button. With a flash of light Shuppet disappeared into the pokeball. It wiggled once and lay still. It shrunk and she put it on her holster belt under her dress. As she was walking to the bus stop, someone called her name. Kyu turned around to see Nash. He looked frazzled.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! Cecilia says you have a visitor at HQ." He told her hurriedly. Kyu's gaze darkened.

"What kind of visitor?" She asked.

"I don't know he keeps asking for you, but he insisted your name was Kayla." Nash said. He needed to get Kyu back to the base before Cecilia killed the guy. The man was driving the boss crazy; he wouldn't shut up or leave her alone. Kyu was in shock. Only one person stilled called her that.

Before Nash could say another word, Kyu took off down the sidewalk. She was running much faster than during her race with Vince, and Nash couldn't even keep her in sight as he ran after her. She reached the gang's base out of breath from running top speed for so long. Outside of the old dorm Cecilia was arguing with a tall man with black hair. Forgetting her tiredness Kyu shot towards the man.

The moment would not soon be forgotten by the young members of the Blue Charizard watching from the broken windows. They watched astonished as Tokyo's master assassin, dressed in a yellow sun dress no less, hug tackled the dark haired man, as tears streamed down her face and she cried,

"Brother!"


	35. Chapter 35

**It's gonna be a short chapter since I'm busy packing. I think I'm going to write what happened to Kyu and Ninetales in more detail soon. Thanks for the support. –Pogokitten**

It was the perfect night for the mission. It was a new moon and clouds obscured any light from reaching the ground. Austin and Umbreon eyed the building cautiously from their perch in a tree. Austin was dressed in all black so as to blend in. The compound was an armored archive where Vexa stored all their data records. His mission was to sneak inside and steal any documents related to the Super Soldier project.

The low building was heavily guarded. Armed men patrolled the perimeter with pokemon on their heels. Huge spotlights swept the ground and flying pokemon watched from above. It was going to be tough to get in, but it wasn't anything Austin and Umbreon couldn't handle. With no moon to illuminate his yellow rings, Umbreon was practically invisible in the darkness. Peering through his binoculars Austin saw that each guard carried a keycard to get into the building.

A code was also required, but Austin had a little gadget for that. After timing the patrols Austin and his pokemon made their move. Umbreon jumped from the tree and sprinted over the open ground, dodging the bright spotlights. The little shadow rushed up to a guard and his pokemon. The Growlith yelped in surprise as Umbreon swerved passed it and snatched the keycard hanging off its trainer's belt. Umbreon was gone so fast that neither even saw him. The guard passed the undiscovered theft off as a stray Starly flying by.

Austin jumped to the ground stealthily and raced through the exposed territory just as his pokemon had. He reached the steel door where Umbreon was waiting for him with the card. The next patrol was not due for about 67 seconds. He took the keycard and swiped it across the lock. The light turned from red to yellow. Austin pulled a small silver box out of his pocket and attached it to the locking mechanism. Numbers flashed across its small screen and the light on the lock turned from yellow to green.

Austin grinned as he slowly pushed the door open. It led them to a long white hallway full of thick password locked doors. Careful to stay in the blind spots of the security cameras, the two intruders crept down the passage. Recalling the top secret floor plan he had memorized, Austin snuck through the building to room 109. It was slow going to stay out of site, and they almost got caught by late night workers twice.

Finally they found the door they wanted. While Umbreon kept watch, Austin put his code cracker to the test again. The light blinked green and the two crept into the room. The lights were off, but the computers that lined the walls were still running and cast a soft glow. Umbreon followed him into the room as the door clicked shut. Austin picked the computer farthest from the door and sat down in the swivel chair. He hooked up his password machine and it went to work. After a few tense minutes the computer's firewalls were defeated, and Austin was allowed full access. Umbreon jumped onto the desk to watch what he was doing.

He opened up the 'projects' folder and scrolled down the list looking for the one he wanted. Most of them were labeled by numbers, so when he saw one that wasn't it caught his attention. The folder was named 'eien no akumu' which he roughly translated as 'eternal nightmare'. He clicked on it and saw the first thing in the folder was a movie file. His curiosity got the better of him and he clicked on the play button. The footage was shaky, and not the highest quality, but Austin could still see what was happening. He gasped out loud and Umbreon backed away from the screen whimpering.

"Wh-what the hell is this?!" He choked out.


	36. Chapter 36

**Hi! I'm back! It's been a long couple of days, and to make up for the lost time I'm going to write a chapter every night for a few days. Anyways thanks for the support like always, and I love to hear from you guys, so don't forget to tell me what you think! :3 -Pogokitten**

The video was only about 30 seconds long, but after it was over Austin was frozen in fear. The glow of the computer made his face pale and ghost like. _It couldn't be._ _They can't possibly have it imprisoned there_ Austin tried to convince himself. Umbreon was growling at the screen as if he expected the creature in the video to reach through the computer. Umbreon's soft growl snapped Austin back into action.

Trying to push what he had seen out of his mind, he concentrated on finding the file he had come for. After finding it he copied both the file and after a bit of hesitation, the Eternal Nightmare project file on to a USB as well. He shoved both the USB and the code cracker into his bag shakily. Knowing he had wasted far too much time Austin logged out and headed for the door. The hall way was luckily deserted as they snuck their way to an exit. Austin was still reeling from his discover as they went, which was why he crashed right into a man in a white lab coat.

Umbreon unleashed a shadow ball, but the man was faster and before it hit him yelled,

"Intruder!" The man was sent flying as the shadow ball hit him in the chest, but the damage had been done. The sound of running footsteps was fast approaching. Throwing caution to the wind Austin took off down the hall at full speed. As they sprinted through the halls a screeching alarm sounded. Austin could feel it vibrating his ear drums. He could hear the guards and their pokemon now, gaining on him. As Austin spotted an exit, 4 guards rounded the corner each with a Growlith. The door had auto locked when the alarm had sounded, which was way it did not even budged when Austin pulled on it.

He had no option but to fight now. Austin turned to face their pursuers. The pokemon growled menacingly. The biggest guard stepped forward.

"You aren't going nowhere bastard." He said grinning. Austin took a fighting stance. The man and his pokemon charged. The narrow hallway was not Austin's ideal place to fight, but he could use it to his advantage. As the man charged Austin expertly slid underneath him on the smooth tile floor. The man had no time to stop and he ran right into the steel door. He fell to the floor blood dripping from his nose. With a practiced ease Umbreon flipped the guard's Growlith over and bite its soft under belly. The pokemon howled in pain as blood stained its fur.

"I'll get you for that you-" Another guard started until Austin swiftly grabbed his forehead and slammed him into the wall. The man fell to the floor blood dripping from his scalp. The other Growlith howled and went to attack until Umbreon hit it with a dark pulse. The other two men shook with anger and ran at him at the same time.

Austin moved so fast that the men didn't even know what happened. Pulling two retractable hooked blades from his pack; Austin extended them to their two and a half foot length, and hooked a leg on each man. He pulled back, instantly breaking their limbs. They gasped in pain, but Austin silenced them by smacking them across the face with his steel hook blades. He wiped the blood from his weapons while Umbreon finished off the other pokemon.

"Guess we don't have to be subtle anymore." Austin muttered. Umbreon understood what they needed and began to create a huge shadow ball. More guards could be heard running to them. A bead of sweat rolled down Austin's neck. He wasn't sure he could handle more than five at once. Finally the shadow ball was ready, and with a howl Umbreon unleashed it at the heavy door. It was blasted off its hinges and went flying. The two raced out the door as the guards came into view.

The alarm was still ringing as they sprinted over the open ground to the safety of the tree line. The guards and flying pokemon swarmed them, but Umbreon and Austin were much too fast and had the cover of darkness on their side. In the confusion of the swarming people and pokemon they snuck away.

A few hours later they arrived back in Tokyo. Austin and Umbreon were both exhausted. The two returned to their small apartment and promptly fell asleep. Austin woke up two hours later and took a shower. After a hurried dinner of rice balls Austin sat down at his desk and plugged in the USB drive. Austin smiled softly as he watched his pokemon sleep next to the computer chair.

Though extremely curious and fearful about the Eternal Nightmare project, Austin knew work came first and opened file ex.22-0009 which was about the super solider project. Most of the documents in the folder where encrypted, and the ones that weren't where too complicated for him to understand. He was about to give up for the night when a video file caught his eye. That was at least something he could understand.

He clicked the play button. The image was fuzzy but clearer than the other one. It showed a young girl of about 8 Austin felt was familiar. She was strapped to a table by leather restraints dressed in a hospital gown, and hooked up to several different monitors. A group of people in lab coats stood around her. She was crying struggling to break free. The adults had on gloves and masks like surgeons. As they stepped in closer one of them blocked the camera's view of the girl.

"Are we ready to start the procedure?" One asked. The other nodded and closed in around the little girl. There was a high pitched scream of agony from the girl that woke Umbreon and sent him streaking from the room. Austin watched wide eyed as blood splattered the floor and camera lens. Even though Austin could not see what was happening to the girl he supposed was Kyu, he could still hear the pokemon-like shrieks of unbearable pain from her.

Austin turned away from the computer and lost his dinner on the floor.


	37. Chapter 37

**In this chapter we finally learn who exactly Alex is and why Ninetales never strays far from his beloved Kyu! Next chapter will most likely be in more detail.** **Hope you like it**. -Pogokitten

Kyu hugged Alex tightly softly crying into his shirt while the gang members of the Blue Charizard watched, speechless. Alex embraced Kyu tenderly in return. He smiled sadly. He had kept away for far too long. Sniffing Kyu lifted her head from him and whispered,

"I missed you so much. I thought you never wanted to see me again." A feeling of shame washed over Alex. When Kyu had been hiding in northern Europe they had gotten into a huge fight, and he had left her to fend for herself at the young age of 13. Alex had worked as the landscaper at Kyu's mansion when she was young. She had quickly grown attached to him, and Alex had taken on the rule of an older brother.

"I'm so sorry, Kayla. I shouldn't have left you out there with only Ninetales. It was something I've always regretted." He said softly squeezing her gently. After a few moments Kyu untangled herself from his arms and looked up at him. She trusted Alex more than she even trusted Cecilia.

"I'm glad you aren't mad anymore." She said wiping her eyes. Alex put his hand on her shoulder.

"Of course I'm not mad anymore. It's been 5 years. More importantly I want to know how you've been." He told her. Kyu nodded and took his hand. She looked much meeker than anyone had ever seen. Surely he already knew that she had gone and done what he told her not too. It was Kyu's determination to do it that had sparked the only fight she'd ever had with Alex.

Cecilia knew little about Alex, though Kyu had mentioned having a 'brother' a few times. She had heard that he had known her longer than most everybody. Figuring they would want to talk privately she offered them a room in the dorm. Alex accepted with a warm smile that made Cecilia's heart jump. The whole way to the room Kyu did not say anything as she clung to Alex's hand. When they reached the door Cecilia stepped aside awkwardly to let them in, but Alex gently grabbed her hand.

"Why don't you come talk with us? Kyu told me a lot about you when she was younger. She regards you as one of her closest friends. I would love to get to know you, and Kyu might feel more at ease if you're with us." He asked her. Pleasantly surprised Cecilia nodded and led the way into the small room. It contained only a small table and a bed. The room had only a small weak lamp to light the room. Cecilia took a seat at the table next to Alex while Kyu sat on the bed. Alex folded his arms and prompted Kyu,

"So how have you been?" Looking away she didn't answer him at first. Kyu caught Cecilia's gaze, and the older girl nodded encouragingly.

"I-I did it…the thing you begged me not to do…I killed them, all the investors." In the dim light Alex looked much older. He looked at Kyu until she turned and caught his gaze.

"I know…it's okay. They helped do terrible things. I shouldn't have judged you, because I never experienced the things you did when you were imprisoned." He spoke softly. Cecilia looked like a statue. She had heard the tales. That Kyu had been in a place far worse than Hell back then, where most people had gone insane or died, but she had never had the courage to ask about it. Kyu jumped from the bed and hugged tackled Alex again, sobbing,

"I was…so scared…you wouldn't…forgive me…" As Alex held Kyu Cecilia felt like she was trespassing on something sacred. She made to get up and leave, but Alex grasped her hand again and mouthed 'it's okay, stay.' Her heart skipped a few beats just looking at him. She sat back down as Kyu began to calm herself. The younger girl then sat on the bed again.

"How has Tokyo been this time around?" Alex asked. Kyu blushed at this.

"Well…I've been um keeping busy, and I made some friends." She told him shyly. Alex was dumbfounded. Even when Kyu was little she had never shown much interest in other children her age. Cecilia was amazed as well. Recovering from his shock Alex beamed at her.

"That's great Kayla! I'm so proud of you. Who are they? What are they like?" He asked happily. Cecilia was getting curious now too.

"Well one is kind of reckless and crazy, but she is funny and supportive. Another girl is very responsible and kind…" Kyu talked about her friends for an hour. The whole time her eyes shined as she told them about her time with them. Alex had never seen her look so happy, as she told him about her adventures. Finally Kyu asked,

"That's enough about me though, how have you been Alex?" Startled that Kyu was asking about his life for the past few years he began,

"I've been okay it's not very interest-" Kyu broke in,

"It will be interesting to me if it's about you." Her eyes reflected gold in the dim lighting. Smiling slightly Alex began to tell them about how he had gone back home to start a gardening and landscaping company. It was mildly engaging, they even laughed a few time at his story, but soon the long and eventful day took its toll on the young girl and she fell asleep. Alex was done talking and now he and Cecilia sat in the room in silence. Suddenly Alex spoke,

"She looks so much younger when she's asleep. You would never guess what she's been through." It was true Kyu only looked about 8 while she slept. Her weak constitution made her tired most of the time. Cecilia realized this was her chance to learn more about Kyu without directly asking her.

"So you've known her for a long time?" She asked timidly. Alex smiled sadly.

"Yes since she was about four. I never had any siblings of my own, so I guess I kind of grew attached to her." He told her softly. They were both silent for some time as Alex lost himself in memories.

"I almost lost my mind when she was taken. I took what little money I had and went all the way to Japan to look for her. I was only 16, it was a crazy thing to do, but she was like family to me." He said looking at the ceiling.

"I stayed here for years searching. I got by working part time as a mulch layer. 5 years after she had been taken, and I had been in Japan for 4 of them I was about to give up. When I saw a huge Ninetales while up in the mountains. For some reason I felt compelled to follow it up the path. Then near the top it turned around and asked me, 'Are you the one called Alex Stein?' I was so surprised I answered 'yes'. Then it went into a cave and brought a girl out on its back. I almost didn't recognize he after so long. I was so overjoyed that I'd found Kayla. She was weak, but she stilled smiled and called me brother." He continued.

Cecilia hesitated then asked,

"I think of her as my little sister too. The very first time I met her I wanted nothing more than to be close to her. I hope you don't mind my asking, but do you know what happened to her? How is she…still alive…when she's so sick, even…even after all this time…?" Alex stared at her hard. Suddenly he asked,

"How much do you know about Ninetales?" The question was so out of place Cecilia gapped at him. Alex chuckled at the look on her face.

"Well I know he's very old and large and can talk to humans…" She answered confused. Where was this going?

"Yes Ninetales are known for their seemingly magical powers, but this one is very special. Let me ask you something else. Have you ever seen Kayla stay away from Ninetales for very long? They maybe partners, but being so intelligent and proud, why do you think Ninetales always stays with her? A little sick girl, when he hates most humans?" Alex asked. He seemed to be trying to coax her to the answer as if he could not bear to say it himself.

"I'm not sure…" Cecilia said. Now that she thought about it, it was true. Why would Ninetales stay with Kyu for so long? He always acted as if he were above humans. Sighing heavily Alex said,

"It's because Kayla saved him from experiencing the same hell as she had. He is loyal to fault and to repay Kayla he has been giving her his life force. If they were to spend too long apart Kayla would die from her disease."


	38. Chapter 38

_Ninetales stood opposite Kyu in a huge field. Where were they? For some reason she was wearing a long white gown. The sky was covered by dark swirling clouds. The wind howled fiercely whipping her hair around. She could not hear what he was saying, but still Kyu could understand Ninetales's meaning. 'I thought you had learned that you can never trust humans. You have brought this storm upon yourself.' He conveyed throwing his head back angrily. 'Are you saying I can't trust my own kind?! If not humans than who?!' She tried to scream back. A streak of lightning lit up the sky._

_ 'I'm not a pokemon Ninetales! I can't shut myself away from my own species!' The ground was shaking now like an earthquake. The beautiful fox's red eyes glared into her green ones. 'They have ruined our world with their greed and cruelty. This place was once peaceful, but now you have become uncertain. It has caused this world to grow unstable. You must pick a side! Will you trust the people who have destroyed your life once already? Or the pokemon who have stayed by your side through even the darkest times?' he seemed to challenge her._

_ Kyu grabbed her aching head. The sky shook with the rumbles of thunder. She squeezed her eyes shut. 'What are you talking about? Why do I have to pick? I need you both!' Kyu yelled to the pokemon. But when she opened her eyes Ninetales was gone. Suddenly the ground cracked open to reveal something red and bubbling. With a rush of terror the girl realized it was blood. It began to rise from the earth and seep into the grass. What? Someone…someone was calling her?_

"Hey wake up already would you?" Someone was said. Kyu jolted awake in a cold sweat. She was sitting on a bench outside a market? Looking around confused Kyu saw the person standing in front of her was Maggie. Her memory returned to her quickly. She had gotten into a fight with Ninetales when she had returned to the loft late last night with Alex. Ninetales had been outraged when she had brought him to their base. Ninetales distrusted all humans except Kyu, and the thought of disclosing their head quarter's location to anyone else was unthinkable.

They had gotten into a huge fight, Ninetales had told her that Alex could not be trusted, and Kyu had told him that if he couldn't trust Alex then maybe the pokemon couldn't trust her either. In a rush of hatred for all humans, Ninetales had retorted that it would be amusing to watch when all Kyu's 'human friends' stabbed her in the back. The remark had hurt more than she would have thought possible. Kyu had then screamed at him to stay away from her, and fled.

After wandering the streets all night and right before dawn Kyu had run into Maggie. The older woman's first thought was to ask Kyoko what she was doing out before even dawn, but had caught the look on the girls face and knew that something had upset her badly. Maggie invited Kyu to come shopping with her for the day, and having nothing else to do Kyu had tagged along. She must have fallen asleep when Maggie had gone into the grocery store. Her dream faded quickly and Kyu said,

"Sorry I didn't get much sleep last night." Maggie handed her a brown bag full of fruit and told her,

"Help me carry that would you?" Kyu yawned and stood up to follow the police woman. As they walked down the street in the graying light Maggie stopped to look at something in a storefront. Kyu stopped too and her mind wandered. She was trying to remember her dream, but was having trouble. _There was a storm and Ninetales was there…Ninetales. _Her heart constricted just thinking about his awful words. They had never fought like that before…He had always been there for her. Sudden movement caught Kyu's eye. A young girl ran down the road. She was panting heavily her long orange hair stuck to her sweaty face. Looking around frantically she ran into a narrow side street.

Two men in suits chased after her. They looked like bad news. Kyu suddenly dropped her bag of produce and flew after them. Maggie whipped around at the thud to see Kyoko take off down the street.

"Hey what are you doing?!" The police woman called. The two men had caught up to the girl. The tall one was grinning down at her, while the other one pinned her to the wall. The orange haired girl shrieked, terrified.

"Come on baby don't scream. We just wanna show you a good time." The shorter one told her. The girl struggled uselessly and they chuckled. The one pinning her grabbed her blouse and began to pull at it. The girl shrieked again, but this part of town was empty this early. Suddenly Kyu rounded the corner. Her anger with Ninetales was making her reckless, as she tackled the man pinning the girl. By pure luck he hit his head on the edge of a trash can and was knocked out.

"What the hell do you think you're doing bitch!" The other man yelled at her. Before he could make a move Kyu looked up and told the girl,

"Hurry! Run as fast as you can!" The orange haired girl nodded and raced away with tears in her eyes. Kyu stood up to face the man. Grinning almost insanely Kyu said,

"I can't just let you rape an innocent girl." The man backed away uncertainly. Even as dense as he was the thug could sense the near demonic aura of this strange girl. But seeing how weak she looked he dismissed it. Quickly saving face the thug smirked,

"Do you have any idea who you're messing with? We're from the Red Rhydons, the biggest gang in town. Innocent little girls outta know their place, like you and carrot top. I think I should teach you a lesson. Go Emboar!" He realesed an odd pokemon Kyu had never seen before. It was large with flames sprouting from it. The pokemon looked like a Grumping and a Typhlosion had mated. Kyu smirked herself and said,

"You have it wrong. I might be little, but I'm hardly innocent. Let's go Shuppet." The ghost pokemon popped out of his ball. The man laughed at her puny pokemon. Her connection with Shuppet wasn't as strong as with Ninetales, but the ghost pokemon could still sense her wordless commands to an extent. Being far to reckless Kyu charged across the battle area and began grappling with the huge man. He was shocked that not only did she attack him head on, but that she was matching his strength.

_I'll show Ninetales I don't need him_ Kyu thought. Shuppet used ominous wind. It whirled around the large Emboar, but didn't do much damage. Shuppet was still young and not very strong. It yipped nervously as if trying to say it was worried. Shuppet attacked again with shadow ball. This time the fire pokemon grunted in pain as it hit him. Shuppet dodged his counterattacks well, though as it shot flamethrowers. Maggie rounded the corner and was met with the sight of little Kyoko fighting with a large man. Kyu meanwhile landed a few good blows to the man.

"Emboar use heat crash!" The huge pokemon slammed the little ghost to the ground under a huge blast of fire. Shuppet dissolved into a shadow and badly wounded returned to his pokeball. Shit. Kyu was allowing her emotions to distract her, and had given the man an opening. Maggie watched horrified as the thug picked her up and threw her against the wall. The wind was knocked out of her when she hit the wall, stunning her.

"Gotcha punk. Emboar finish her off with your fire punch!" The man yelled triumphantly. The pokemon roared and charged at her.

"Kyoko!" Maggie yelled desperately. Kyu then noticed Maggie, which snapped her out of her daze and she managed to roll out of the way. The pokemon crashed into the brick wall where Kyu had been, but the girl didn't escape unscathed.

"Arrghhh!" Kyu yelled. Her upper arm had gotten caught in the intense flames. It felt like she had gotten molten lava spilled on her. She couldn't bring herself to look at her arm, but her hand could still move, so she figured it had not been burned off. It was still most likely at least a second degree burn, maybe even a third degree. Kyu's vision was becoming blurry with pain. She could hear Maggie fighting with the man now, but the pain made her blackout.


	39. Chapter 39

**Sorry the chapters aren't coming out as frequently. I've been getting into a lot of new anime like Attack on Titan and Elfen Lied. -Pogokitten**

The fight was swift and decisive. Luckily for Maggie Kyoko and her pokemon had weakened the Emboar during their fight. Manectric finished the creature with a thunderbolt and it fell to the ground with a loud thud. The gang member tried to run, but Manectric shocked him. He went into a dead faint and Maggie cuffed him. Leaving him on the ground, she raced over to Kyoko pulling out her cell phone. The younger girl's face was sweat slicked and ashen gray. She was panting heavily.

With shaking hands, Maggie rolled Kyoko onto her right side. Her arm looked bad. The smell of burnt flesh permeated the air, making the police officer gag. The burnt area took up most of Kyoko's upper arm. It seemed like she had escaped a third degree burn as the skin, though bright red and blistering, was not blackened. Maggie could feel the heat rising from the wound. Checking Kyoko's pulse, Maggie dialed the emergency number. An operator picked up on the second ring.

"What is the nature of your emergency?" A woman asked.

"I have a young girl here who has sustained a major burn. We need an ambulance." Maggie told her as calmly as she could manage. For some reason Kyoko's pulse was faint. After telling the woman the details Maggie hung up to call the office. Liz picked up the phone.

"How my I assist you great lord Maggie? As your humble-" Liz started jokingly, but Maggie broke in quickly,

"We don't have time for that nonsense! Listen get a booking squad down here now! Kyoko's been hurt bad, and I caught the thug who did it. Also we need to see if anyone was a witness."

"What?! I'm on it! Is she..? Is she okay?!" Liz gasped out. Maggie said nothing for a moment. Shit what was going on?! Kyoko's pulse and breathing shouldn't be this out of control from just a burn!

"I don't know! Just hurry!" Maggie said into the phone. She hung up. Still shaking Maggie put her ear to Kyoko's chest. Her heart was beating somewhat irregularly. _What was she thinking? Trying to fight someone like that _Maggie thought frantically_. Damnit! Why are her vitals weakening? A burn alone shouldn't do this!_ Several panic filled minutes later the whine of a siren announced the arrival of the ambulance. A man and a Chansey carrying a stretcher jumped from the back of the vehicle and sprinted towards them.

Chansey got to work checking Kyoko over while the man cut away the sleeve on her dress. Half unconscious Kyoko shrieked in pain as the fabric stuck in her burn was torn away. Still focused on getting the girl on to the stretcher, the man turned to Maggie and asked,

"Do you know her? What is her name?" Startled from her panicked thoughts Maggie nodded,

"Yes I know her. Her name is Kyoko Hayashi. She was battling that man and his pokemon burned her." The man checked Kyoko's vitals and called for his pokemon to help him load her into the truck. As he picked the small girl up, she squeaked weakly in protest.

"Just hold on kido, we're going to get you some help." He soothed. He and Chansey placed her gently on the stretcher. Just then Liz arrived on the scene with several other cops. They went to work quickly taking both men into custody. Liz made as if to join Maggie, but was stopped by a superior officer. As the large pink pokemon put Kyoko into the ambulance, the man turned again to Maggie.

"What is your relationship to Miss Hayashi?" He asked.

"I'm her…her friend." Maggie whispered.

"And your name?" Straightening up Maggie pulled out her badge and said,

"Special Agent Maggie Toshiko."

"Do you know how to get in touch with her parent or guardian?"

"No…" At this the man sighed.

"Would you care to ride in the van with us ma'am?" Maggie nodded and they climbed into the back. It was packed full of medical tools and smelled strongly of antiseptic and exhaust. Chansey had hooked Kyoko up to a monitor and started an IV drip. A breathing mask was strapped over her mouth and nose. She looked so much smaller now. The car took off down the road sirens blaring. Maggie felt bad about leaving the others to do all the work at the crime scene, but right now Kyoko took priority.

The ride felt like it was hours long. All Maggie could do was stare at Kyoko's face. _How could I have let this happen again? This is the second time Kyoko could have died when she was with me _Maggie thought shamefully. At the hospital Maggie sat in the waiting room. It was colorfully painted in a poor attempt to lighten the atmosphere of the place. It was full of people. Some sat on the hard plastic chairs nursing small injuries, others were like Maggie. They sat wringing their hand with terrified eyes, waiting for news on a loved one.

After what felt like an eternity a doctor opened a door and called out,

"Is Miss Toshiko here? Maggie Toshiko?" Maggie jumped up from her seat and went over to the woman.

"Yes that's me." Glancing up from her clipboard the doctor nodded.

"Come with me." She said gravely. The hall way was long. Doors and paintings were placed periodically along the walls. Soft voices and crying children floated across the halls as they walked.

"How is she?" Maggie asked. Without stopping the doctor told her,

"Well the burn was not too severe, but there are some other things…" Trying to quell her anxiety Maggie asked,

"What kind of things?" Stopping suddenly the doctor looked around. Seeing they were alone she asked,

"Were you aware that Miss Hayashi's body is covered in scars?" Surprised Maggie shook her head. She had seen a few on the girl's hands, but didn't think anything of them. Was that why Kyoko always wore long clothing even in summer?

"Yes…They cover her from the neck down."

"What are they from?" Maggie asked concerned. The doctor wouldn't meet her gaze.

"Most appear to have been made by medical tools…Though I can't imagine why she would have had that many surgeries…others look more like the scars you might see on a gang member or mercenary…" Maggie felt like she was listening from underwater. _Surgery scars? But why? And battle scars too...No…she can't be…That would be impossible…_Maggie said to herself. As Maggie was trying to absorb these new facts, the doctor started again,

"I don't really know how to say this…You are her friend right?" Snapping back to reality Maggie nodded. The doctor sighed,

"Then I suppose you have a right to know. I assume Miss Hayashi is aware of this already, but hasn't told you. She has an autoimmune disease that is so rare that only about 600 hundred cases have ever been reported. We had to call in a specialist just to ID it." Maggie's heart crawled into her throat. Kyoko was sick? Grabbing the door frame for support Maggie asked shakily,

"Will she be okay?" The doctor whipped the sweat from her forehead and said,

"It's terminal." Those two words made the ground shift under Maggie's feet. Kyoko was going to…to…die? What was she going to tell Liz? What was she going to do?

"No…" Maggie whispered.

"I'm actually surprised she is still alive…In most of these cases the person dies without ever reaching puberty…From what I understand the disease makes the immune system attack the patient's organs, causing them to break down." The doctor told her softly.

"Can't you…can't you do anything?" Maggie choked out.

"No…I'm sorry…" The doctor began to walk away slowly. Not knowing if she even wanted to know the answer Maggie called out,

"Wait!" The doctor stopped.

"How long…How long does she have..?" Without turning around the doctor said,

"I'd guess…maybe a few weeks if she's lucky." With those words ringing in her ears Maggie fell to her knees. The room was spinning. She didn't know how long she sat there, but the next thing she knew Liz was standing over her. The younger girl smiled at her and asked,

"Whatcha doing down there chief?" Oh Arceus how was she going to tell Liz? Maggie covered her face and sobbed.


	40. Chapter 40

**Sorry guys. Classes have started up again, and I'm really busy. I'll only be able to write about once a week, but I do my best to keep writing. -Pogokitten**

It was the smell. Antiseptic with under tones of blood and stale air. Though unconscious from the pain killers the terrifyingly familiar scent still reached Kyu. It brought back everything she had been trying to forget. The pain, the metallic taste of blood, the screams from the others who had long since given into insanity. The way the cold metal bars of her cage dug into her legs and the faces of the scientists. Suddenly she was back in hell as she finally slipped from unconsciousness to sleep.

_Kyu was 7. She remembered that it had been the 20th day she had tried to kill herself. It was late at night and the lights in the lab had been turned down. Her cage was made for Mightyena sized pokemon and sat on the floor. Many other cages of varying sizes were lined up in rows with hers. The shrieks and cries of the other test subjects echoed around the room. 'Mommy…it hurts' one sobbed 'Kill me please! I'd rather be dead!' another yelled. Kyu lay on the floor of her prison staring at the high ceiling through the crisscross pattern of metal._

_ Suddenly the heavy lab doors were pushed open, pouring light in from the hallway. The scientists were talking. They had recently used drugs and surgery to increase her hearing range, and Kyu heard every word from across the huge room. 'Well we tried to put it in a pokeball, but it kept breaking out. We can't justify using a masterball on a non-legendary.' One said out in the hall. 'If we keep it lethargic and muzzled it shouldn't burn the place down…' said the other._

_ Kyu pushed herself up into a sitting position to watch what they were doing, and shivered in the cold. The short stained hospital gown hardly reached her knees. She winced as the IV tube in her hand pinched her vain. Another victim… I wonder how long until they go crazy too Kyu thought. Most lost it after only a month or two. I wonder how long until I go nuts too… It's been two years. I wish I could lose it and not have to experience this any longer the girl said to herself. The sound of wheels on the tiled floor brought Kyu out of her thoughts._

_ Two burly men pushed a huge cage through the double doors. The sight took the small girl's breath away. The biggest pokemon she had seen so far in her life was imprisoned in the steel box. The creature had beautiful long golden fur that caught the light. It had 9 long tails that swished around the cage furiously. Its eyes were the color of rubies and traveled over the room desperately. The pokemon tossed its head angrily and Kyu could see a tight black strap wrapped around and digging into its muzzle._

_ It was the first time since being taken that Kyu had felt anything that wasn't fear, pain, or hopelessness. She stared at the striking pokemon pressing her hand against her cage in a desire to feel his dazzling fur. The men wheeled the cage over to a spot across and down from her. The pokemon growled at them and rammed the steel bar wall. It was so strong the prison almost fell from the cart. 'Jeez I didn't think Ninetales could get this big.' One of the men exclaimed. 'Ninetales.' Kyu whispered. The pokemon's name rung sweetly in her ear. It was the most amazing name she had ever heard. _

_ 'I swear I heard it talk.' One of the men said uncertainly. Kyu glanced at the scientist at that. He happened to look over by chance and catch her eye. He was the one who had hit her when she cried after they caught her trying to commit suicide the 16__th__ time. Kyu squeaked and backed up against the far wall of the cage. He smirked and looked back at the pokemon. 'He is a special one that's why we wanted him. They talked for some time, but Kyu had become entranced by Ninetales once more, and wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. It noticed her looking at it and glared at her in confusion._

_ Why had the humans trapped their own kind in here as well, and a kit no less? It wondered._

**Maggie's point of view.**

The room was similar to, but bigger than Maggie's when she had been in the hospital. It was obviously made for long term stays. A coffee table and hard plastic chairs sat by the window. Kyoko was sleeping uncomfortably on the bed. She was attached to more machines than Maggie cared to count. The small girl was a mass of tubes and wires. Kyoko was sweating and fidgeting in her sleep. She was most likely having a nightmare. Maggie sat on a purple chair by the girl's bed lost in thought.

Liz was sitting by the window. She had taken the news in shocked silence, and still had not said a single word. Maggie felt lost. She had no idea how to help either of her friends. She took Kyoko's hand and traced the scars on the pale white skin. The warmth seemed to have left the girl's hand and it was now ice cold. In the back of Maggie's head an unwelcome idea was forming. Why does she have so many scars? There is no way Kyoko could be Kyu was there? It was true that she had not seen the assassin's face…But wasn't the whole reason she had meet Kyoko because she had thought the girl was Kyu?

They sat in the hospital room listening to the hustle of the nurses and doctors outside. At one point a loud alarm went off down the hall some ways. A stampede of footsteps raced towards the room it was coming from.

"Code Blue! Code Blue!" Someone shouted. Maggie's stomach dropped with the sudden realization that sometime soon that alarm would sound for her friend too. _She might not actually be my friend…_ After a few hours when night had fallen, Maggie stood up and asked,

"Hey Liz are you coming? We should go." Liz did not react. Maggie walked over and shook her shoulder. The younger girl startled, and Maggie saw a tear roll down her cheek. She blinked a few times and remembered where she was. Maggie took her arm gently.

"Come on it's late. We should go." Maggie told her softly. Liz nodded and stood up. She glanced at Kyoko, but kept walking. The whole way down in the elevator Liz didn't speak. The lobby was crowded with people and Maggie just wanted to get back home soon. She was walking out the sliding automatic doors when Liz finally spoke,

"What do we do Maggie? I don't want her to die." Maggie turned to face the girl. Tears streamed freely from Liz's puffy red eyes. Maggie's heart ached and her eyes began to tear up too. Then she remembered Kyu's cold voice, and that Kyoko might be a murder. She hated herself for it, but Maggie turned away and said,

"I don't think there is anything we can do. This world is cruel and unfair." Then Maggie saw Kyoko's smiling face as the girl thanked her for saving her from the ghost pokemon. The warmth it had filled her with. Liz was sobbing now.

"But you know, it's also kind of a beautiful place too."


	41. Chapter 41

**This story was defiantly not as well thought out as it should be. This was the first story I've tried to actually keep up with, but I never thought ahead. Thanks for sticking with it so long even though it's not that well written. I was using it as practice mostly. I have an even better story to tell. It will have longer chapters and I'm going to start it after this one is finished. Thank you for even taking the time to read it. I'm going to finish it very soon. –Pogokitten**

The next morning Maggie was woken up by a phone call. Irritated at the early morning call on a weekend, she snatched the phone from the receiver,

"Hello?" she grumbled sitting up. The person on the other line sounded young as she spoke,

"Is this officer Tosh-Toshiku-"

"Yes this is Toshiko who is this?" Maggie snapped.

"Um yes I'm a nurse from St. Moltres hospital. We didn't know who else to call." Suddenly awake Maggie sat up straight.

"Is this about Kyoko?"

"Well yes you see last night she um, well uh she woke up…" Jumping out of bed Maggie started throwing on clothes. _Now I can ask Kyoko myself about who she really is…_ She was worried that Kyoko would be hurt if she wasn't Kyu, but Maggie would rather be cautious then dead. Still on the phone Maggie asked,

"May I see her?"

"Well that um is the problem. She…she became very distressed on waking." The nurse stuttered. Maggie paused.

"Why? How distressed?"

"Um, screaming-like-a-wild-pokemon-and-breaking-the-lim bs-of-the-people-who-tried-to-calm-her distressed… We're not sure why." Maggie almost dropped the phone.

"She did what?!"

"And uh then she fled the building…"

"Have you called the main police?"

"Yes we did they said they would send out a search for her. Kyoko shouldn't be walking around in that condition." Maggie wanted to get to the hospital as fast as she could, but she needed to check some things first. Pulling up the police network on her home computer, she soon confirmed her grim suspicions. She sent Director Sato a very long detailed email before logging off. She drove to the hospital, sirens blaring, her foot never lifting off the gas. Pulling up, Maggie saw Liz, Rachel, and Brendon.

"I got your email officer. Are you positive? I don't even know if we have enough political power to look into an organization that big. And the little girl you were friends with?" Brendon asked gruffly. Maggie nodded and motioned for them to follow her. Confused Liz and Rachel trailed behind slowly.

"I'm at least 90% sure it's her. I don't want to believe it though…I've saved that child's life twice already…sir." Maggie admitted. Brendon looked at her surprised.

"I wouldn't think a serial killer would repay debts. If you really were that close to her, and alone with her as many times as you said…you should be dead. Especially if she knew you were police chief." When they reached what used to be Kyoko's room, Maggie stopped, shaking slightly. _It was true if Kyoko really was Kyu…She could have killed me so many times…_ The inside of the room looked like it had been a host to a pokemon battle. The equipment was destroyed and the plaster walls had huge dents in them. Even the ceiling lights were broken. Liz caught her breath, and gasped,

"What in the world happened here? Do you think Kyoko was kidnapped?" Maggie looked away. She didn't want to tell Liz. It would break her heart. But she had to. Liz had a right to know.

"No she wasn't kidnapped…" Maggie forced herself to say.

"What are you talking about?! I'm so lost right now! What where you even talking about before?!" Liz shrieked fearfully. She knows deep down, but she doesn't want to acknowledge it. Nobody said anything. Liz was shaking with anger. How dare they accuse Kyoko! What proof do they have?

"You can't honestly think Kyoko is Kyu! She is our friend, Maggie! I…I know her! She's not-" Liz started until Maggie grabbed her shoulders.

"I don't want to think she is either Liz! But there is a lot of circumstance evidence. Not to mention this," Maggie gestured to the wrecked room. "And I tried to look her up in the system." The system was an information bank that contained info on everybody in Japan. It had been created after the terrorist group Team Rocket had taken all of Tokyo hostage years ago.

"What about the system?"

"There is no Kyoko Hayashi fitting her description in Japan."

**Kyu's point of view last night.**

Kyu had woken up and thought she was back at the lab again. It was the reason she always avoided hospitals. That and they always asked too many questions. Her mind had blanked out and her body went on auto pilot. All she remembered was screaming and the sounds of things breaking. Next thing she knew, she was laying in an empty lot overgrown with grass. Kyu didn't know how long she laid there staring at the star less sky_. I hope I didn't kill anybody when I escaped…_ She thought. Her insides felt like they were being boiled_. I shouldn't need Ninetales to heal me yet. I must be pushing myself too hard… _She closed her eyes and wondered what Ninetales was doing. _I hope his still not mad at me._

Just then something big rustled the grass by her head. Looking up she saw Ninetales as if her mind had called him. She smiled weakly at him.

"What are you doing laying there on the ground?" he asked evenly. Unable to even sit up after her adrenalin fueled flight Kyu said,

"Well I got tired and decided to take a rest." Ninetales grasped her hand lightly in his mouth and pulled her up into a sitting position. Kyu let out a gasp of pain as she spit up blood, and only then did Ninetales realize how bad she actually was. He sat behind her to support her and curled his tails around the small girl.

"I'm sorry." She whispered suddenly.

"For what?" He asked. Kyu closed her eyes again. The warmth of the fire pokemon was like being wrapped in a blanket right out of the dryer.

"Everything…" She breathed. Ninetales glanced at her, but saw she was already asleep. He gently grasped the back of the hospital gown and lifted the teenager into the air. Setting her on his back so she wouldn't fall off, he stood up. Ninetales figured she meant more than just their spat. He sighed,

"If you mean the fact that the price for extending your life is shortening my own, is something to be sorry for then there is no reason to apologize. It is my choice. Besides what else would I do with my ridiculously long life if you were dead?" Even though she was asleep a small smile formed on Kyu's lips.

**Austin's point of view.**

He had finally realized why the Kyu in the video looked so familiar. It was because he had _seen _her before. Just about a month ago she had been the girl he saw. It had dawned on him after looking at the pictures in her file. He wanted to smack himself. Of course how would have known it was her? He hadn't known what Kyu looked like yet. But now he did, and more than that he knew she was in the city.


	42. Chapter 42

**Sorry for the lack of chapter last week. I had a very busy weekend and had no time to do anything, let alone stay up and write. Anyway don't forget to tell me what you think. -Pogokitten**

In the days that followed there was no sign of Kyu or Kyoko. They had managed to track her scent to a field where it mingled with a pokemon's and disappeared. Liz had told her friends what happened and about Maggie's suspicion. None of them were on speaking terms with the older girl. Only recently had Maggie begun to try and find more about Kyoko. As it turned out her name was Kayla, and she was from Germany. She had gone missing at the age of five before reaping in Japan. She had also discovered a pattern in all the places Kyu had attacked.

They were all tied to the multinational research company called Vexa. She would strike their labs were they conducted experiments for new products. Not only that but, looking through the old records Maggie had found that all the business men who had been killed by her three years ago were investors who paid for Vexa to do research. Maggie felt like a fool. Kyoko had played her. No not Kyoko, she was Kyu. There was no doubt in Maggie's mind. There were just too many coincidences.

Maggie sat back and sighed. The office was extremely uncomfortable now with Liz always glaring at her. Today Maggie was going to meet the head of Vexa's Japanese branch, Marcus Okumara. In fact she was running a little late. Jumping up Maggie rushed from the office and out to her car. The drive was a long one out to the country side. The lab was out of the way as it was very large. The building was huge, square, and white with no windows. Mr. Sato was waiting for her when she arrived.

Together she and the director rung the buzzer outside the door, and a young man answered. He was tall, and whip thin with shockingly white hair. His eyes were a disturbing red. He extended a hand to Brendan.

"I am Mr. Okumara. Pleased to meet you." Surprised Brendan shook his hand and said,

"I'm director Sato, and this is special agent Toshiko." Marcus nodded and motioned for them to follow him inside. The hallways were long and lined with doors. The man took them up an elevator to his office. It was sparse with only a desk a few chairs and some book shelves. It was not what Maggie had expected at all. They all took a seat and then Brendan spoke,

"I'm sure you know why we're here?"

"Of course I do. It's because you police officers can't catch one measly brat who thinks she can play assassin. That child has been destroying my company." Marcus responded dryly. His demeanor shocked Maggie, but the director brushed off the jab.

"Yes we have been having trouble. I hope you forgive us for being unable to handle this situation, but we have reason to believe that Kyu will strike here next and think we can ambush her." Marcus simply looked at Brendan. His eyes were really unnerving. He got up and walked over to the book shelf. Then without turning around he asked,

"What do you propose to do?"

"We would allow her to enter the building and apprehend her." At that Marcus turned back to them.

"I don't really want you running amuck in here. I will not have my lab destroyed by fools who know nothing of her capabilities."

"You say that like you know what she can do, sir." Maggie piped up.

"Yes I do know what she can do. You see she attempted to murder me as well."

"That was never reported to the police!" Maggie said jumping up.

"I didn't want you people poking around in my personal life. I suppose I can allow it, but there needs to be some conditions." Marcus replied. He took a book off the self and placed it on his desk. Maggie was really starting to dislike this man. He talked down to them, but he was barely older than her. Brendan nodded in agreement.

"Thank you."

"The first condition is not to enter any rooms without permission. I will send all of the workers home so you don't have to worry about their safety. Next no destroying the entire place with pokemon battles, and only fifteen officers are allowed to be in the building at once. My own security will help you if you need more people." Marcus listed. Before Maggie could protest, Brendan stood up and shook Marcus's hand.

The preparations took a few days. They would lure Kyu to the basement where there was little space to maneuver and try to take her into down. Liz joined in the perpetrations with a vengeance. If they caught Kyu she could prove it wasn't Kyoko.

"Are you really going to let them do this, sir? How will we start the Eternal Nightmare without that girl?" the vice director asked Marcus. The officers had gone for the day after setting up, and Marcus was reading a book titled _Genetic Structure an Advanced Study _at his desk. He looked up from his reading.

"Don't be foolish. We won't let them catch her before us." He said flatly. Confused the vice president asked,

"Um how will we do that sir?" Smirking Marcus pulled a pokeball from his pocket.

"All it will take is a little slight of hand."


	43. Chapter 43

**I'm sorry! I've been so busy with everything. I wanted to start my other story too, so I 've been writing that more than this. Oh well. I'll be finishing this story in just a few chapters. I'm really tired but this is my only free time to write. Sorry again that this chapter might not be that good. I really don't like the way I took this tale, but I'm gonna finish it no matter what. Anyway try reading,**

** Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Darkening Shadows**

**I Haven't gotten far on it yet, but trust me it's way better than this story. Anyway sorry (again) for the long note.- Pogokitten**

Kyu and Ninetales returned to the loft. Kyu was half dead and though she breathed it was labored and ragged. All through the night Ninetales healed her by giving her his life energy. They both slept all the next day, and only woke up when the stairs creaked announcing the presence of an intruder. Kyu sat up soundlessly and Ninetales raised his head.

"Kayla? Are you here?" Alex called out. Kyu relaxed and shouted,

"We're up here." Ninetales huffed, annoyed but didn't say anything. Alex entered the sleeping area with a strained smile. His head was beaded with sweat, and he tugged at his collar. Ninetales squinted at him suspiciously.

"Kayla I was worried I haven't heard from you in some time. Are you okay?" He asked. Kyu nodded and stood up with some difficulty.

"I just got into a little bit of a pinch." She told him. Alex glanced at a traditional Japanese fox mask on the floor.

"What's that for?" he asked nervously. Kyu's gaze darkened.

"I need it for a job. I'm going to finish it once and for all." She muttered. He walked over and hugged her.

"I know I can't change your mind. I'm sorry." He said shakily. Confused Kyu started,

"Why are you apolo-" In a split second Alex whipped out a knife and slashed at Kyu's neck. Her reflexes were better than some pokemon's though and she crouched to dodge it easily. Alex dropped the knife in a panic knowing he had missed his chance to do the job and was as good as dead. Kyu stayed in a crouch for what seemed like an eternity. Something in her mind shattered. Then she began laughing insanely. A high pitched screaming laugh with no mirth.

"I-I didn't want to…They to-took my wife. If I didn't kill you they would kill her…" Alex said desperately. Ninetales started to get up, but Kyu whispered, in his mind, _**No**_.

"**I really hate humans. Such wicked creatures. I can see it now that my eyes are open. You have been afraid of me since you found me with Ninetales. Only your guilt from the past called you to find me again…Hee-hee**." Kyu giggled. She pulled out her gun and shot Alex's foot. He yelled in pain as blood splattered the ground. She stood up. Her eyes glowed green and her face was warped by a mad grin.

"**You really shot yourself in the foot with that one. No wait that was me. Hee-hee If you wanted to kill me you really should have put more effort in to it. You thought I would be easy to kill that hurts**." Kyu said and grabbed Alex by the collar. She forced him to the ground and stuck the gun to the back of his head.

"Wa-wait p-please. I didn't…want to hurt you Kayla. Don't you remember how I took care of you? Y-you're like a sister to me." Alex said fearfully. He was sweating profusely.

"**Kayla? Who's that? My name is Kyu.**" She fired. Blood splattered on her face and dripped to the floor. Alex's body fell to the ground with a thud. Ninetales was shocked by Kyu's insanity. He knew her mind wasn't as stable as most people's, but this… She knelt down and picked up the fox mask that was now speckled with blood.

"Kyu? Are you alright?" Ninetales asked cautiously. Kyu turned to face him. The insane light had left her eyes, but now they were dull with pain.

"Yeah. Let's go." Kyu said flatly. She put the mask on and climbed onto Ninetales's back. They took off and headed out. Ninetales had seen many humans and pokemon lose their minds when he was a captive in the lab. But Kyu's madness felt different. Their minds were connected in a sense so he could tell what she was feeling often. When she had told Alex that she wasn't Kayla…she had believed it.

But she had quickly returned to normal. It seemed something of a personality disorder. He had witnessed it once before when she had been reunited with Alex when they escaped. She was convinced she was sick little Kayla, not tortured young Kyu. This seemed more extreme though. Perhaps she had gone crazy in the lab, but her mind had compensated for it by making separate people? Yes that would explain a lot.

She had become the entirely murderous Kyu when she killed Alex. Ninetales had felt a huge shift in her mind the moment Alex had tried to kill her. It felt like something shattered and disappeared. Could it have been the 'death' of Kayla, the first personality that she had been born with? But she had changed back to her mostly usual self after…was there another personality?

Ninetales's mind swirled in frenzy as he sprinted through the wilderness. Kyu did not speak the whole way to the lab. They went all through the day and the sky grew dark.

"Stop. We're here." Kyu said. They came to a halt at the edge of the forest and stared at the huge building. It's eerily familiar shape sent cold chills down both their spines. Kyu couldn't believe she had actually come back. She was almost paralyzed with fear, but the thought of that man. The one who had stolen her What-Could-Have-Been. She would make him pay with his life if it was the last thing she did.


End file.
